Real Madrid - Girona summary: score, goals & highlights, LaLiga EA Sports

Thank you!

Let's leave it there. Thanks for joining in on the action from Madrid and make sure you come back tomorrow for the other major sporting event of the weekend, the showdown that the world is waiting for: Barcelona - Granada.

Joe

Rodrygo post-game:

We knew it was an important game to win, we are happy with the win.

It's special for me [to get goal number 51]. I'm very happy.

We are confident in all the players, and they're versatile. We're confident in playing with Carvajal and Tchouaméni at the back.

The manager never talks to me about scoring, I think he's confident in me. I just thank him for his support. We talk but about other things, not scoring or assisting.

He told me (at half-time) I was defending well, but at the start of the second half he told me I was defending badly and that he was going to take me off! It was to pressure me a little.

Here's how the table looks:

After that resounding win for Ancelotti's side, they are now 5 points ahead of Girona and their title challenge looks to have taken a huge step in the right direction.

Real Madrid's next game is against Rayo Vallecano; Girona will play Athletic Club.

Barcelona, who are 6 points behind their Catalan rivals, play against Granada tomorrow.

A resounding win for Real Madrid

GAME OVER!

Well, Joselu's penalty was the final kick of the game. He went to Gazzaniga's right and thumped it against the upright.

OFF THE POST!

It's Joselu with the ball...

Arda Güler was tripped by Yan Couto and the referee did not hesitate!

REAL MADRID PENALTY

Sávio goes down under a challenge from Fran García and the referee waves away a potential penalty shout. The replay shows he was probably correct.

Yan Couto shoots from distance and his effort dips late and almost causes Lunin - who had opted against diving - to worry.

Alas, it doesn't and the ball sails over the goal.

Tchouaméni taps away Sávio's cross from the right and Real Madrid sip tea as they comfortably defend a rare Girona attack.

The former City man finds a gap and races away down the left. He takes an age to open his body and then rushes to hit the ball, which flies past the far post.

BRAHIM FIRES WIDE

A huge chance for Brahim goes begging as the forward can't control the ball inside the box.

Fede sent Fran García running down the left and the cross was good, everything was - right up until Brahim's first touch, which Eric García pounced on.

We're into the final ten minutes of normal time as Yan Couto goes in hard on Fran García, who's had a lot of involvement since his introduction.

Sávio loses out against Fran García on the right side of the Girona attacking unit and the Spanish defender gets a strong applause from the crowd.

"Vinicius, I like your personalty, can I have your shirt?' says the most optimistic sign ever from a not-so-young fan.

Carlo makes final changes:

OFF: Vini Jr, Mendy

ON: Fran García, Arda Güler

Mendy is booked and will be out for the next game, which is against Rayo Vallecano.

Pim, pam, tip, tap, Madrid just keep the ball rolling in between the lines as the black kits swirl around them. I wouldn't be surprised if some Girona players end up wearing their shirts back to front by the end of the game.

Real Madrid are keeping the crowd happy with some controlled possession, waiting for their moment to attack the space in behind Girona's high line.

Twenty minutes to go. 

Girona make changes:

OFF: Dovbyk, Iván Martín, Tsygankov

ON: Stuani, Solís, Valery

Real Madrid's changes:

OFF: Kroos, Rodrygo

ON: Modric, Joselu

Yan Couto, who's had a terrible night, goes into the Señor Referee's book after a foul on Camavinga.

It looks like he's a little dizzy after taking on a shot... with his face.

Modric and Joselu are readying themselves to come on.

Carvajal is down...

There is so much space for Real Madrid every time they come forward: Camavinga sends a simple ball forward to Rodrygo, who makes the wrong decision and goes alone with Lucas and Vini Jr on either side, losing the ball.

Here's a telling stat as the olés ring around the ground: Real Madrid have had 6 shots; Girona are yet to have one.

Back underway. Madrid are having a ball out there; Girona can't find it.

The Brazilian takes the ball from Yan Couto on halfway and sets off on a sensational run towards goal. He gets to the edge of the box, opens up his body and fires a rocket into the far corner!

Bellingham looks utterly depressed on the bench as the medical staff cut off his bandages.

A standing ovation for Bellingham

OFF: Bellingham

ON: Brahim

Bellingham can't carry on. His night is over.

We're back underway.

See goal numbers one and two: It's stunning from Vinicius Jr yet again. 

We've had a golazo, a Modric pass and now, he's gone full FIFA Street.

The winger takes the ball on the left and sets off on a mazy run, slipping and sliding past the challenges with sensational skills and lightning feet. He goes for goal and Gazzaniga can only push the low shot into the path of Bellingham for his second of the night.

Bellingham is back on and the Bernabéu breathes a sigh of relief.

UPDATE: He's walking but it's tentative steps from the midfielder.

Eek. Bellingham is down off the ball. It looks like he was stood on earlier in the half.

Girona, who look a little livelier, win a corner after finding space down their left again. Miguel again at the heart of the move.

Carvajal, inside the Girona box, swings a leg at a dropping ball but his connection is poor and it spins off his foot like you might expect from a right-back.

Kroos is sensational. I know you know, but it's always nice to be reminded.

Joselu, Brahim and Fran García are all warming up on the sideline as Madrid tap, tap, tap the ball around.

Girona come out strongly and Miguel fires a cross into the box that is just about cleared by Lunin. Dovbyk was sniffing.

Second half underway!

Real Madrid get us going...

Girona change at half-time:

OFF: Portu

ON: Pablo Torre

Here come the players!

We're almost ready to go for the second half.

Girona to switch things up

There's word of a double change for Girona... let's see what Míchel decides.

Real Madrid - Girona stats at HT:

Shots: 7-1

On target: 3-0

Possession [%]: 49-51

Pass completion [%]: 93-94

Clearances: 6-5

Bellingham breaking more records...

He's now the top-scoring midfielder (across one season) for Real Madrid in this century. Are we surprised?

Sofascore with the goods

This is why they get to wear the long, white lab coats at Sofascore Towers. What a stat.

Half-time thoughts:

It's cruise control for Los Blancosat the break, who, after withstanding harmless Girona possession for the first 5 minutes, have outdone their opponents in every way.

Vini Jr set the tone for the half with a sensational early goal, and Bellingham made sure the Brazilian's sublime pass turned into an assist with a nice finish. 

Girona haven't been at the races, but it's been the home side who have had their serious heads on and kept them at bay.

Míchel will be racing down from his position high up in the naughty boys corner and getting his team back in working order for the second half.

HALF-TIME!

Real Madrid have shown their class so far, and are worthy leaders of both the game and the league.

Vini Jr gets in behind and Bellingham spies the run, sending a sly ball through the line. The Brazilian makes contact but his shot/cross is both weak and off-target, two fundamentals in scoring goals.

Girona attack and Real Madrid sweep up superbly well, standing on their jugular and cutting off the blood. Deadly defending.

Vini Jr takes one, two, three touches too many as he tries to go it alone inside the box. Bellingham picks up the scraps and sends the ball into the crowd.

4 added minutes.

Lunin catches Yan Couto's cross and crashes to the floor as the clock ticks towards half-time.

I don't want to repeat myself too much, but Girona really can't get a whiff of the ball at the moment; Real Madrid are putting on a masterclass here as Carlo Ancelotti's eyebrow is resting calmly on his head.

Vinicius Jr sends a laser-guided pass with the outside of his boot across goal and Gazzaniga collects down low. 

The Bernabéu crowd are having a fantastic time as they watch the Girona players chase the shadows of the current league leaders.

We're back underway and Madrid are dancing around their opponents.

Wow. Vinicius Jr does it again.

He spies Bellingham bursting in behind and sends the ball curling around the back line with a stunning outside of the boot pass that finds the Englishman all on his own.

Bellingham takes a touch, slips past Gazzaniga and taps into the goal before spreading his arms out to the adoring Bernabéu crowd.

And the ball sails over everyone and out for Lunin to collect from the ballboy.

Camavinga steps into Yan Couto rather needlessly and Girona have a free-kick on the right, next to the touchline. 

Rodrygo's touch is too heavy and runs away from him in the box - but that was a delightful move between the Brazilian, Fede and Lucas on the right, who all linked up well to send Catalan heads spinning on the wing.

Tchouaméni goes to ground to clear a low cross from the right as Girona find space on the outside of Mendy.

We're half an hour in and Girona haven't really got into their groove...

We're back underway and the ex-Birmingham boy looks good to go.

Bellingham is down with what looks like a sore ankle. 

I think Eric García was the culprit.

A bit of scrambled eggs at the back for Girona, who just about manage to get the ball away from the danger zone as Madrid continue to pepper the six-yard box with low crosses from both sides.

Ferland Mendy's cross is delicious as it whizzes in from the left and across goal - but nobody in white can get a body part to it!

CHANCE FOR MADRID

A lovely move from the home side goes from back to front and ends with a cross that's deflected wide for a corner. Madrid are in full flow here, and look exceedingly confident.

In possession, Real Madrid's midfield three becomes a two as Kroos drops in between the defenders while Fede and Camavinga step up in the 'Bellingham position'. The Englishman pushes on and plays a a striker.

It's Valverde in the end who goes for goal. He opens his boot and slides a low drive towards Gazzaniga, who gets down and collects.

The ball is on the left side of the 'D', right on the line. Kroos is towering over it like a protective eagle over a clutch of eggs.

It's a booking for Juanpe as well, who did indeed shove the midfielder over as he burst through the defensive line.

Camavinga goes down in the box... but the referee has given a free-kick!

Miguel slips Portu in behind the Madrid defence, who get back well and into position.

This is a strong spell on the ball from Girona, who are causing the Bernabéu crowd to whistle in frustration.

It's Carvajal on the left of the centre-back pairing, by the way, with Tchouaméni on the right.

Real Madrid have enjoyed a nice spell of possession over the last few minutes and their intensity is really causing Girona some problems as they creep into the final third.

Kroos really is running the show every time Madrid get their turn on the ball. The entire game plan of Los Blancos has him in the middle, pulling strings, spinning plates and serving up sublime passes all across the pitch.

CHANCE. Kroos wins the ball high up and sends a lovely ball towards the far post, where Vinicius Jr is waiting. Eric García reads the pass well and clears.

We've just resumed after a slight stoppage due to an injury to Yan Couto, who looks just about OK to carry on.

Vini Jr there with the basketball celebration. Doesn't he realise it's Super Bowl week?

Rodrygo races away and goes 1vs1 with Juanpe, who wins the battle and takes the ball from the Brazilian as he edges into the box.

Girona are, as they had been in the opening minutes, playing a solid game of keep-ball.

Salva, Girona's assistant on the sideline, is asking for calm.

Girona attack right away and Dovbyk sees his shot blocked from inside the box.

Vini Jr takes the ball in from the left, draws back his right leg and launches a Saturn V rocket into the far corner of the goal!

The Girona defenders didn't do anything wrong - perhaps they stood off hi just too much - but that was a sensational strike!

VINICIUS STRIKES FROM RANGE AND MADRID ARE AHEAD!

Ballingham. I'm not even going to correct it. It works.

A delightful touch from Ballingham sees his spin away from his marker in the midfield and Real Madrid break at pace. Girona scramble back and defend as the ball is fired across the box from the right; nobody makes contact as nobody in white is there.

Lucas clears away Yan Couto's cross that sails in from Girona's right side. So far, it's the away side with all the ball.

Bellingham is playing just ahead of Madrid's midfield three, made up of Kroos in the middle, with Fede on the right and Camavinga on the left.

Valverde does well to cover a pass from Miguel down the line as Sávio fires his legs at full speed in an attempt to break past Madrid's defence.

The away side are keeping the ball as Real Madrid chase.

I think everyone except Dovbyk has had a touch and we're not even a full minute in.

AND WE'RE OFF!

Girona, in all black, get us going.

We're all set!

Ready to rock and roll!

Apparently some Girona fans who made the journey haven't managed to make it to the game due to problems with the train. If you're reading this live feed, Girona fan stuck on the train, good afternoon.

Here come the teams!

The two sides are in the tunnel!

Serious faces and lined up in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu tunnel as Hala Madrid y Nada Más rings around the ground.

LALIGA

Why isn’t Antonio Rüdiger playing for Real Madrid against Girona in LaLiga? When will he be back?

Antonio Rúdiger, Madrid's German central defender, was named in the squad by Carlo Ancelotti but ultimately won’t feature at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Here's the latest on the centre-back, including when he is expected to come back into contention.

The maestro is ready to go...

The German has been, maybe just maybe, Real Madrid's best player this season. Let's see how he does today against Girona.

Ten to go!

The warmups are finished and both XIs have made their way down the tunnel for the final team talks before kick-off!

The seats are filling up at the Bernabéu!

Just for fun, I tried to get tickets for the game today, in order to do a little research. Safe to say, dear reader, that it was a tough task, as the seats have flown ahead of the game today!

Fifteen minutes to go!!!

Here is a reminder of how the two sides line up today:

REAL MADRID

GK: Lunin

DEF: Lucas - Carvajal - Tchouaméni - Mendy

MID: Kroos - Valverde - Camavinga - Bellingham

ATT: Rodrygo - Vini Jr

GIRONA

GK: Gazzaniga

DEF: Yan Couto - Eric - Juanpe - Miguel

MID: Tsygankov - Sávio - Iván Martín - Aleix García - Portu

ATT: Dovbyk

Here's how the Bernabéu renovation is going...

Real Madrid’s 360º scoreboard is nearing completion at the revamped Bernabéu - here's a look at how the job is going.

Girona on the podium of Europe's top scorers:

Bayern Munich - 59

Manchester City - 54

GIRONA - 52

Liverpool - 52

Bayer Leverkusen - 52

Girona are, as you can see, Europe's third-highest scorers this season. And they've got Dovbyk back for this game, who was missing last time out as they drew against Real Sociedad.

Warmups underway!

We've got less than half an hour to go and physical coach Pintus is currently putting the Los Blancos starting XI through their paces on the pitch with a very intense warmup routine.

Here's how things look in LaLiga_

Real Madrid are - just about - top of the league with opponents Girona continuing to chase them as the weeks go by.

The Catalan side could go top today with a win but anything gained at the Bernabéu will make Míchel a happy manager.

Ancelotti pre-game press conference:

Girona come with big hope, motivation. They could win the game and lead the league and we have to keep that in mind. But [the game] doesn’t decide anything: the league will be decided later, whatever happens

Girona are in their away strip for the game

The Catalan side are set to sport their black and green away shirt for the game today, as the red and white stripes clash with the blanco of Los Blancos.

Bellingham's pre-match ritual

The Englishman, if you didn't already know, carries out the same pre-game routine every week. He steps out onto the grass of wherever Madrid are playing and, alone, in silence, visualises how the game will play out.

It's worked well so far, that's for sure, so let's leave him to it!

Míchel press conference highlights:

Under the spotlight: Dovbyk

The Ukrainian striker has been, in true Girona style, a revelation this season and leads the way at the top of the scoring charts, with 14 goals.

He’s tied at the top with Getafe’sBorja Mayoral (yes, that one) and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. Just for a little closure, the top 5 is rounded out by the Atlético Madrid duo of Álvaro Morata (13) and Antoine Griezmann (11).

It will be a huge challenge for him today in the Spanish capital, but he will no doubt take hope from Real Madrid's depleted defence.

NFL chiefs “blown away” by revamped Bernabéu

Speaking at the announcement that the Bernabéu is to host an NFL game in 2025, NFL executive VP Peter O’Reilly spoke glowingly of the remodelled stadium in the Spanish capital.

Reminder of the lineups:

if you've just joined us, welcome!

Here is a reminder of how the two sides line up today:

REAL MADRID

GK: Lunin

DEF: Lucas - Carvajal - Tchouaméni - Mendy

MID: Kroos - Valverde - Camavinga - Bellingham

ATT: Rodrygo - Vini Jr

GIRONA

GK: Gazzaniga

DEF: Yan Couto - Eric - Juanpe - Miguel

MID: Tsygankov - Sávio - Iván Martín - Aleix García - Portu

ATT: Dovbyk

Girona's Míchel won't be on the sideline

The Girona manager, Míchel, will not be on the sideline for today's crunch game in LaLiga due to a suspension, meaning he'll have to watch from the stands.

Today's venue...

The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is the venue for today’s crunch tie at the top of the league, and it finally looks as though the building works are finally coming to an end.

It has been a long process of renovation for the ground, which has undergone a significant facelift, with a retractable roof and a fancy new pitch (more on that later) the standout additions.

Real Madrid arrive at the stadium!

The home side have arrived at the stadium ahead of kick-off and it's serious faces all round from Los Blancos.

Vini Jr returns...

Vinicius Jr is back in action for Real Madrid today after pulling up in the pre-game warm-up against Atlético Madrid last week.

Luckily for Los Blancos, he’s made a full recovery and will feature today from the beginning after being given the green light from the doctors to be included in Carlo’s starting XI.

How to watch the game:

Want to watch the game on your TV or tablet and also follow the live text coverage? Have a look at Fidel’s handy guide.

I'm just trying to work out the Girona XI...

Without David López at the back due to injury, it seems Míchel has gone with a change of formation and has added Portu to the mix. I'm struggling to find a third centre-back in their lineup, dear reader, meaning that we may well have a 4-2-2 on our hands...

Girona XI:

Told ya, readers! 

Here's Míchel's XI for the game. Gazzaniga starts with Yan Couto and Miguel on either side of Eric and Juanpe, it seems. Aleix García and Iván Martín are in midfield with Savio, Tsygankov on the wings. Portu and Dovbyk are up top.

Girona on the way to the stadium

The Catalans have started their journey from the team hotel to the ground; we've got no sign of team news just yet, but we'll give it straight to you as soon as we hear it.

Real Madrid starting XI revealed

Here's Carlo's starting XI for the game. Lunin makes the cut between the sticks, and he'll sit behind a back four of Lucas, Tchouaméni, Carvajal and Mendy.

Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga and Bellingham are in the engine room with Rodrygo and Vini up top.

How the table looks:

Today’s clash is, as mentioned, a potential title decider.

Both teams are going blow for blow at the top of the table and Girona, the surprise package of the season, now look to genuinely be in the race for the LaLiga trophy.

It’s taken a while for people to decide whether or not they could fall off as the match day counter ticks on, but now it seems that indeed they are in the race against Real Madrid for the title. 

Real Madrid, given their dropped points against Atlético last week, are just 2 points ahead of their Catalan opponents, who are on 56 after 23 games.

Both sides have only lost a single game all season: Real Madrid’s came against Atlético back in September; Girona’s sole defeat came 6 days after. Their opponents? Real Madrid.

Who's the ref?

Juan Martínez Munuera is the man with the whistle today, which is surely bad news for your team. The 41-year-old is from the coastal city of Benidorm and has been a LaLiga official since 2013. 

Girona team news

Blind and Herrera are both out with suspensions, while David López and Toni Villa are both unavailable with injuries.

Real Madrid team news

Carlo Ancelotti had two huge reasons to smile this week as he welcomed back both Vini Jr and Rüdiger to his group training sessions ahead of the tie.

The duo missed out on Real Madrid’s last game against Atlético Madrid (1-1) at the Bernabéu, so having them back will be a huge plus for Los Blancos. 

However, the Italian coach lost Antonio Rüdiger to injury this morning, and as such the German is out of action. Reports say he’ll be out for two weeks.

Apart from that, it’s the usual suspects still parading up and down the injury room, with Alaba, Militão and Courtois all injured.

Welcome!

Hello and a warm welcome to today’s live coverage of what is, without doubt, the biggest sporting event of the weekend. 

It’s Joe here to bring you the tie between the league leaders, Spain’s two best teams, the side who are unbeaten at home versus the team that have not lost away: RealMadridagainstGirona.