Real Madrid fume as Mbappe is left bloodied after being struck in Girona draw

Alvaro Arbeloa hit out at a decision not to award Kylian Mbappe a penalty as his Real Madrid side saw their La Liga title hopes suffer another major blow by drawing with Girona.

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona on Friday night, with Federico Valverde's second half opener cancelled out by Thomas Lemar.

The hosts were left furious in the closing stages after claiming Mbappe should have been awarded a last-gasp penalty.

Mbappe had dribbled into the Girona box and was caught by the outstretched arm of defender Vitor Reis.

The French forward went down in the box, but saw his appeals for a spot-kick waved away by the referee and VAR.

Mbappe had been left bloodied in the face by the collision, with the Real Madrid star requiring treatment above his right eye after being hit by Reis' elbow.

'It's a penalty here and on the moon,' Arbeloa told reporters post-match.

'It's just another one, another week gone by. It is what it is, and that's that. Neither I nor anyone else understands it.

'When does VAR intervene? It intervenes when it suits them, and when it doesn't, it doesn't.

'You already know my opinion, the facts bear it out.

'It was a clear foul, they called a foul on Kylian that was less than a penalty.

'We've had many problems with the referees. With this one, in Mallorca, it's the same old story.'

The draw further damaged Real Madrid's hopes of chasing down rivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race.

Arbeloa's side are now six points behind Barcelona, but the Catalans have a game in hand.

Barcelona can extend their lead to nine points when they face Espanyol on Saturday afternoon.

Real Madrid's attentions will now shift back to the Champions League, as they bid to overturn a first leg deficit against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Arbeloa's side were beaten 2-1 at home by the German giants in midweek.

The return leg will be played at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.