Sunday night brought another dramatic turn to the Spanish title race as Real Madrid stumbled at home, playing out a 2-2 draw with Sevilla. Had they won at Valdebebas, they would have overtaken Atletico Madrid at the summit, but they ended up needing a last-gasp goal just to avoid defeat.
Sevilla took the early lead through Fernando in the first half, but the score was leveled after the break thanks to a goal from Marco Asensio. The game then descended into chaos: Benzema was brought down by Bono in the penalty area, but VAR intervened to award a penalty to Sevilla instead, citing a prior handball by Eder Militao.
A wild sequence of events then saw Karim Benzema brought down in the area by goalkeeper Bono, only for a VAR check to award Sevilla a penalty at the other end for a handball by Eder Militao moments previously.
Ivan Rakitic coolly converted the penalty in the 78th minute, putting Sevilla ahead 2-1 and putting them on the verge of a massive victory.
Lopetegui's men held their nerve until the final whistle of normal time, but a grueling six minutes of added time saw Diego Carlos accidentally turn the ball into his own net. This own goal rescued a point for Real Madrid but left the defending champions trailing in the standings.
In the 94th minute, Toni Kroos fired a shot that deflected off Carlos and into the net, leaving Real Madrid two points behind the league leaders, Atletico Madrid.
As a result, Atletico remains in first place with 77 points, maintaining a two-point cushion over both Real Madrid and Barcelona with only three matches remaining. Sevilla missed a golden opportunity to close the gap to four points and now seem out of the running, trailing the leaders by six.
Earlier on Saturday, Atletico Madrid managed to keep their two-point lead at the top of the table after a scoreless draw away at Barcelona.
With every passing week, the La Liga title race becomes more unpredictable, as three different teams are still very much in the hunt for the trophy. This past weekend could have provided a clear frontrunner, but instead, the tension only grows.