Real Madrid held at home by Osasuna as Benzema misses a penalty
Osasuna secured their second consecutive away point at the Santiago Bernabeu to end Real Madrid’s 100 per cent record in La Liga, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Los Rojillos came into this fixture knowing they had not tasted victory over Los Blancos since 2011 and Jagoba Arrasate’s side held their own in the opening exchanges in search of a positive result.
However, a moment of good fortune proved to work in Madrid’s favour three minutes before the break, as Vinicius Jr.’s cross from the left flank evaded everyone, including Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera as it found its way into the far corner to give Los Blancos the lead.
Osasuna then struck six minutes after half-time to level proceedings. Kike Garcia’s looped header found its way over Real Madrid stand-in goalkeeper Andrey Lunin as the striker marked his first league start of the season for the Pamplona-based club with an important goal.
Real Madrid then had a golden opportunity to take the lead with ten minutes to play as they were awarded a penalty following a VAR review, after David Garcia bundled over Karim Benzema in the area. The Osasuna defender was then shown a straight red card for preventing a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Benzema stepped up to the spot, but the striker saw his powerful effort smack against the top of the crossbar and go behind, as Herrera breathed a sigh of relief in the Osasuna goal.
Despite some late Madrid pressure, the ten men of Osasuna saw out the remainder of the game to continue their impressive start to the season and move up into 6th place in La Liga. Meanwhile for Los Blancos, failing to win tonight means that they are now tied at the top of the table with Barcelona on 19 points.
