"Many Photos" - Benched Gareth Bale gamble backfires as Real Madrid slip up in title race with Barcelona

REAL MADRID’S decision to bench Gareth Bale backfired as they suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to lowly Girona.

Santiago Solari played devil’s advocate as he left the Welshman on the sidelines along with wonderkid Vinicius Jr.

Gareth Bale was named on the bench as Real Madrid lost 2-1 to Girona

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Real were winning 1-0 at home but conceded twice in the second half

AFP

The stunning result means Real failed to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to six points.

And with nine points now separating them from top spot, Los Blancos remain third in the table behind capital rivals Atletico.

Solari decided to tempt fate by leaving out Bale and Vinicius Jr for Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio.

While unhappy playmaker Isco was not even named on the bench.

Real started off well and ended up going ahead in the 25th minute thanks to a strike from Casemiro.

Sergio Ramos will miss El Clasico after being sent off late on

Reuters

Cristhian Stuani fired in Girona’s equaliser from the spot

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But things took a twist in the second half when Girona equalised through the penalty spot thanks to Cristhian Stuani.

The visitors then took the lead with just 15 minutes remaining when Portu fired past Thibaut Courtois.

And Real’s misery was compounded by a late red card for captain Sergio Ramos.

It means he will miss next month’s crunch El Clasico against Barcelona, leaving Solari with plenty to ponder in the meantime.

Portu put his side ahead late on in the game

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Real remain nine points behind Barcelona in the table

AFP

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News Photo Benched Gareth Bale gamble backfires as Real Madrid slip up in title race with Barcelona
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