Hello and welcome to
Sports Mole's live text coverage of the La Liga meeting between
Leganes and
Real Madrid at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque.
Los Blancos have won three of their four matches since Zinedine Zidane returned last month, most recently earning a 2-1 comeback victory against Eibar last weekend.
The home side have collected seven points from the last nine on offer, meanwhile, and victory today over their city rivals will lift them up to ninth place.
LEGANES TEAM NEWS!STARTING XI: Cuellar; Nyom, Bustinza, Omeruo, Siovas, Silva; Vesga, Perez, Eraso; Carrillo, Braithwaite
SUBS: Juanfran, Michael Santos, Recio, El Zhar, Tarin, En-Nesyri, Prieto
REAL MADRID TEAM NEWS!STARTING XI: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Modric; Isco, Benzema, Asensio
SUBS: Zidane, Odriozola, Vallejo, Ceballos, Llorente, Vazquez, Bale
KICKOFF: Madrid, aiming to close the gap on second-placed Atletico Madrid to two points, get us up and running at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. This has been a tough place to come this season, the hosts losing just twice here in La Liga.
There are plenty of Madrid players playing for their future in these remaining month of the season. Zidane clearly has his favourites but today offers a chance for one or two fringe players to impress. The visitors have started well enough here, spraying the ball around.
Valverde plays a good pass but Carvajal's cross goes straight behind for a goal kick. Leganes, losers in their last five league meetings with Madrid, attempt to attack down the right but Marcelo stands his ground to nod the ball out for a throw-in.
There have been one or two promising moments from Madrid in these early stages but they have not yet created anything. There is still plenty of time for that to change, of course, but Leganes are looking comfortable enough for now.
SAVE! Isco fizzes the ball into the feet of Asensio, who controls it but fails to beat Cuellar in the Leganes goal once settling himself. It was a brilliant move from Madrid but the finish was poor. Still, that is a promising sign for Zidane.
Isco has started this game very well. The Spaniard spreads another dangerous ball towards the right-hand side of the box, where Carvajal is waiting to bring it under the control. The attempted cross for Benzema is cut out.
Marcelo and Benzema are on different wavelengths as the latter plays a pass straight out of play. Before that, Leganes had the chance to pick out Braithwaite in the middle but the cross towards him was too close to Navas.
CHANCE! Madrid have had nearly 70% of the ball but they could easily have found themselves behind. Siovas outjumps Carvajal to meet a floating free kick into the box. Braithwaite gets in front of Nacho but it is an awkward on and the header from close range is off target.
Modric has a go from outside the box but is unable to keep his shot down. At the other end of the field, Eraso gets his head to a right-sided cross, directing it wide of the target. There has not been a lot between the sides so far.
Madrid are unbeaten in their last 17 La Liga games against Madrilean opposition, while Leganes have only lost one of their last six derbies in the competition. The hosts beat their opponents here in a recent Copa del Rey tie, but it was not enough to stop them crashing out on aggregate.
The tempo of the match is very low. Madrid have had the best chance, with Asensio unable to find a way past Cuellar, while Braithwaite sent a close-range header wide of the target in Leganes' only opportunity in the opening quarter.
Casemiro shields the ball and is clattered into by Nyom, who is given a talking to by the referee. Madrid need to up the tempo because the game has been very flat over the last 10 minutes.
Nearly a third of the game has been played and there has still been just that one Asensio shot on target. The match has become stop-start and has not really got going so far. Leganes boss Pellegrino will be delighted with the way this one is panning out - he will happily accept a point.
Modric and Asensio link up high up the pitch but the attack soon breaks down as the Croatian midfielder fouls Silva. That is the fourth foul committed by the visitors so far, compared to two for their opponents.
PENALTY APPEAL! Leganes win their first corner of the contest. The delivery is a good one and Braithwaite is sent flying at the front post. There may have been some contact from Carvajal but not enough to warrant a penalty for the home team.
Nyom bends in a cross from deep that goes right through for a routine Navas catch. Isco, pulling the strings for Madrid by popping up all over the place, is unable to pick out Benzema at the other end of the field from Madrid's latest attack.
Braithwaite leads a counter down the left after Leganes defender a Madrid corner. It is one against four, though, and when support is offered in the former of Silva, the wing-back miscontrols it and Navas can collect.
Los Blancos are getting nowhere fast. It is still just the one real attempt for them, which is the same number their neighbours have managed. This first half has not been a classic, in truth, with 10 minutes to go until half time.
Benzema drifts out to the right to collect a Modric pass. The Frenchman initially does well to cut inside but Siovas stands strong to win back the ball for his side. Madrid are still hovering over the 72% mark in terms of possession.
The space opens up for Asensio to shoot and he does exactly that, sending the ball high into the stands. This has been a poor performance from the European champions. Pellegrino will perhaps gamble a little more in the second half - the three points are there for the taking.
Isco passes the ball to Braithwaite but the Leganes attack down their right comes to a disappointing end. Bustinza then tries to con the officials when going down in the box, with Isco making no real contact on him.
Madrid's attacking players link up on the edge of the box and Bustinza is penalised for obstructing the run of Isco. Los Blancos have a free kick 21 yards from goal, which Isco lifts over the wall and into the stands.
Madrid hit their opponents on the counter. Asensio cuts in from the right and, with no other real options, he elects to shoot. Sticking with the theme of the first half, the shot is well off target.
SAVE! Benzema knocks Marcelo's cross into the path of Varane, who makes good contact with the shot. Cuellar gets down low to make the save - his second of the game.
GOAL! LEGANES 1-0 REAL MADRID (JONATHAN SILVA)
GOAL! With about 15 seconds of the first half to play, Leganes take the lead! Bustinza sends a long throw into the box - which may well have been a foul throw - Braithwaite heads it on and Silva curls it out of Navas's reach. That was a good finish through a sea of bodies!
HALF TIME: LEGANES 1-0 REAL MADRID
Leganes take a surprise lead into half time through that Silva strike right at the end of the opening 45 minutes. Madrid have been stale throughout, creating only a couple of goalscoring opportunities. Zidane has plenty to think about at the interval.
Leganes defeated their opponents here in a Copa del Rey tie earlier this year, and they showed once again in the first half why they have been so difficult to beat on home soil this term. Madrid struggled to create many goalscoring opportunities, the best of which fell to Marco Asensio in the opening 10 minutes.
Asensio did well to control a fizzed pass from Isco, but he was unable to get the better of Ivan Cuellar in the Leganes goal after setting himself. The home side were more than holding their own, coming close to a breakthrough when Dimitrios Siovas outjumped Dani Carvajal to set up Martin Braithwaite for a close-range header, which the striker could only send wide once getting in front of Nacho.
Leganes then had a couple of weak penalty shouts rejected, including one for a slight shove from Carvajal on Braithwaite when defending a corner. Right at the end of the first half, just after Raphael Varane had a rare shot kept out by Cuellar from a
Karim Benzema knockdown,
Jonathan Silva gave Leganes a surprise lead.
Captain Unai Bustinza sent a long throw into the box, Braithwaite headed it on and Silva curled it around a sea of bodies into the corner of Keylor Navas' net. Zidane may well make a change at the interval, so let us remind ourselves of the options available to both managers...
LEGANES SUBS: Juanfran, Michael Santos, Recio, El Zhar, Tarin, En-Nesyri, Prieto
REAL MADRID SUBS: Zidane, Odriozola, Vallejo, Ceballos, Llorente, Vazquez, Bale
KICKOFF: Leganes get the second half underway at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Neither manager has made any changes at the interval, so it is as you were. Can Leganes see through the remaining 45 minutes for a famous victory?
YELLOW CARD! Carvajal is furious with a decision that goes against his side and earns a booking for slamming the ball into the ground. It is proving to be an incredibly frustrating evening for Madrid against their lesser neighbours.
Carvajal wins a free kick from Silva and Asensio has a chance to send the ball into a dangerous zone, with Casemiro, Nacho and Varane all up. The set-piece is pretty poor, though, being curled away near the penalty spot.
GOAL! LEGANES 1-1 REAL MADRID (KARIM BENZEMA)
Madrid only required six minutes of the second half to drag themselves back on level terms. Modric turns on the edge of the area and slots in Benzema, whose initial shot is brilliantly kept out by Cuellar. The Frenchman is on the rebound in a flash, though, sending it past Cuellar from just outside the six-yard box.
That was a good finish from Benzema with the angle against him. Madrid will surely fancy their chances of going on to win the game from this point, with more than half an hour still to play. There is a break in play as Siovas goes down under a challenge from Carvajal.
Los Blancos are controlling the game now, showing a lot more intensity compared to the first half - it is amazing what a goal for the opposition can do to you! Modric sends in a decent cross that is turned behind by Bustinza.
The home fans are really getting behind their side - and rightly so. Leganes are still on course for an impressive result, which would end their losing run against their neighbouring rivals. The game is being played out in the hosts' half of the field.
Leganes are focusing on keeping their shape, trying to hold out for as long as possible. Madrid are dominating but they have not really looked like scoring since Benzema struck. Zidane may well be thinking about making a change.
There is a coming together between Asensio and Silva, with the former being shown a yellow, seemingly for something he said to the referee. Madrid have lost their way a little over the past few minutes, so Zidane could do with making that change.
SAVE! Silva arrives late in the box to meet Nyom's cross, but his header is right at Navas and the Madrid keeper has a simple save to make. Leganes have come closer than their opponents to scoring the game's third goal since Benzema struck 15 minutes ago.
LEGANES SUB! En-Nesyri comes on for Carrillo in the first change of the evening. Leganes have enjoyed a good spell on the ball either side of the sub, but an offside flag cuts short their latest attack.
YELLOW CARD! This has been a very strange display from Madrid. The visitors just look to be lacking motivation, and they are at risk of shipping a second goal here as Leganes are starting to build some momentum. Valverde is penalised for fouling Nyom, earning himself a yellow.
SAVE! The ball is whipped in and Valverde, at fault for giving away the free kick, makes amends by cutting it out. Madrid get forward and Carvajal's cross is helped goalwards by Asensio at the front post, where Cuellar is waiting to collect.
LEGANES SUB! Pellegrino makes a second change by bringing on El Zhar for Eraso. Zidane has surprisingly held off from making any subs, despite having the likes of Bale and Vazquez on the bench.
Nacho puts his experience to good use by stepping up to catch Nyom offside. Leganes are playing some positive football and are still looking the more likely to score the potentially decisive third goal of the game. Braithwaite nearly gets in behind but his run is blocked.
SAVE! The game has become incredibly open as we enter the final 15 minutes. Shortly after that promising moment for Braithwaite at one end, Asensio had a shot kept out by Cuellar at the other. It was a save the Leganes keeper was always expected to make.
REAL MADRID SUB! Zidane could have done with making this sub a lot earlier. Isco, who was lively in the first half but has dropped off in the second, makes way for Vazquez. Bale remains sat on the bench, with just 12 minutes to go.
Should a late winner arrive for Los Blancos, it would not be deserved. The home team have looked solid and have taken a few risks. This result will do Zidane's side no favours.
REAL MADRID SUB! Modric plays in Asensio with a nice little pass but the attacker is unable to get the ball into the middle. That will be his last contribution as Bale takes his place for the final 10 minutes.
DISALLOWED GOAL! En-Nesyri latches on to Nyom's through-ball and tucks it past Navas with a good finish. However, the referee signalled that it would be reviewed by VAR and the substitute was clearly offside. Good call by the officials.
SAVE! This is the best we have seen from Madrid today. Bale, Vazquez and Benzema all get a touch on the ball and the latter flicks it into the path of Marcelo, whose powerful drive is kept out by Cuellar. Recio is introduced for Vesga in the hosts' final change.
Madrid finally appear to have woken up over the last five minutes or so, but it is likely to be too little too late. Leganes are not exactly sitting back on the point, though, and there is disappointment when Nyom overhits a simple cross into the middle.
CHANCE! En-Nesyri produces some magic by turning Varane inside out. Just when the substitute forward was about to get a shot away, with only Navas to beat, he stalled and Varane made a good recovery challenge. So nearly a late winner for the hosts!
Three minutes have been added on at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. A draw is probably the right result on the basis of the previous 90 minutes. Madrid have been poor on the whole but their equaliser was well worked.
FULL TIME: LEGANES 1-1 REAL MADRID
Leganes see out the remaining couple of minutes of stoppage time for a deserved first league point against their big city rivals at the sixth attempt. Benzema maintained his impressive run of form with his strike early in the second half, cancelling out Silva's effort late in the first half, but it was not enough for a Madrid side lacking in ideas.
That concludes
Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Thanks for joining us this evening!
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