Raul de Tomas’ penalty cancelled out Joselu’s early goal for La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who were forced to a painful 1-1 draw against their lowly city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

This outcome could add some drama to the title fight between Girona and Real Madrid.

Real Madrid made a costly error against Vallecas, which might have resulted in Girona’s title prospects being severely damaged once more.

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This comes after the team crushed Girona 4-0 the previous week, potentially ending their chances of winning the league.

After the tie, Carlo Ancelotti’s team now has 62 points, six more than Girona, who are in second position and play Athletic Bilbao on Monday.

With 54 points, Barca is a distant third, three points ahead of Atletico Madrid in fourth place.

Forward Joselu gave Real Madrid the lead after they took advantage of a wasted opportunity by Rayo forward Raul de Tomas that allowed the visitors to start a quick counter attack.

Brahim Diaz delivered a brilliant long pass into the stride of Federico Valverde who, unmarked on the right wing, put the ball on a plate for Joselu with a low cross that the Spanish forward only had to tap into the empty goal.

Joselu’s first-time effort from inside the box was at first ruled out for offside by the linesman but VAR quickly corrected the decision as the Spanish forward was clearly onside.

Real controlled the game for up to 65% of the time, but they were wasteful and let the locals equalise through a penalty from De Tomas in the 27th minute after midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was flagged for a handball by the VAR.

The Vallecas supporters went wild after the equaliser, cheering their club on as they moved up to 16th position, eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Real Madrid dominated the second half despite squandering numerous opportunities due to injury to England midfielder Jude Bellingham.

The closest they came was a free kick from the edge of the box in the 80th minute from Toni Kroos, which Stole Dimitrievski wonderfully saved after he dived to paw the ball around the post from a curling drive that was headed for the upper left corner.

When Dani Carvajal, a 75th-minute substitution, received two yellow cards in a two-minute span, the irate visitors were reduced to ten men in added time.