Real Madrid end the weekend trailing league leaders Barcelona by nine points after a 0-0 La Liga draw at Real Betis.
Los Blancos lost further ground in their title defence with a stalemate in Andalucia as they face a huge battle to haul back their El Clasico rivals.
The defending champions looked set to keep up the pressure on Barcelona, at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, with captain Karim Benzema seeing an early goal ruled out by VAR.
Benzema was again denied a breakthrough, after the restart, before Thibaut Courtois produced two crucial stops, to keep the visitors in the contest.
Despite a late spell of pressure from Carlo Ancelotti’s side, they were unable to carve out a crucial late goal, in another league title shock.
A single point in this game means Real Madrid will need a major turnaround in the title race ahead of facing Barcelona at the Camp Nou on March 19.
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