Karim Benzema‘s goal was enough only for Real Madrid to draw 1-1 draw away to Leganes on Monday night, to complete the 32nd round of fixtures in La Liga.
Madrid remain 13 points adrift of Barcelona, with Zinedine Zidane‘s second stage as coach now showing three wins, one defeat and a draw.
‘It looks like we do not have much confidence,’ Zidane said. ‘We have to give a little bit more.’
They also now sit four points behind Atletico Madrid. Finishing second, above their city rivals, appears unlikely. Leganes climb to 11th.
Barcelona‘s 11-point advantage over Atletico Madrid became nine on Saturday as Lionel Messi was left out of their goalless draw with Huesca.
Barça are now preparing to face Manchester United in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday – the reason Messi and Pique were among 10 players rested for the stalemate with Huesca, as coach Ernesto Valverde prioritised progress to the Champions League semi-finals.
‘Obviously we always want to win but it’s true this game came in slightly different circumstances,’ Valverde said.
‘It is an unusual week because we come from playing an intense match on Wednesday [first leg at Manchester], when the trip was long, and we have the return on Tuesday.
‘Considering the schedule and our advantage in the league, I thought it was time to make changes.’
Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 thanks to a thundering Antoine Griezmann free-kick and a cool finish from Alvaro Morata.
Spanish La Liga results up to Monday 15 April 2019
Played Monday 15 April
Leganes 1 Real Madrid 1
Played Sunday 14 April
Valladolid 2 Getafe 2
Athletic Bilbao 3 Rayo Vallecano 2
Real Sociedad 1 Eibar 1
Girona 0 Villareal 1
Valencia 3 Levante 1
Played Saturday 13 April
Espanyol 2 Alaves 1
Huesca 0 FC Barcelona 0
Atletico Madrid 2 Celta Vigo 0
Sevilla 3 Real Betis 2
La Liga Table – Monday 15 April 2019
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals For/Against, Points)
Barcelona 32 22 8 2 81 31 74
Atletico Madrid 32 19 8 5 47 21 65
Real Madrid 32 19 4 9 56 38 61
Sevilla 32 15 7 10 54 39 52
Getafe 32 13 12 7 40 29 51
Valencia 32 11 16 5 36 27 49
Athletic Bilbao 32 11 13 8 36 37 46
Alaves 32 12 9 11 33 40 45
Real Betis 32 12 7 13 38 43 43
Real Sociedad 32 10 11 11 38 39 41
Leganes 32 10 11 11 32 36 41
Espanyol 32 11 8 13 37 46 41
Eibar 32 9 13 10 42 44 40
Girona 32 8 10 14 33 44 34
Villarreal 32 7 12 13 40 45 33
Levante 32 8 9 15 45 59 33
Celta Vigo 32 8 8 16 45 55 32
Valladolid 32 7 10 15 26 45 31
Rayo Vallecano 32 7 6 19 36 57 27
SD Huesca 32 5 10 17 35 55 25
