Real drop to second place behind Girona

Madrid, Nov. 7: Jude Bellingham couldn't come through this time and Real Madrid was held by Rayo Vallecano in their Madrid derby on Sunday to drop to second place in the Spanish league. The 0-0 draw ended Madrid's perfect record at home and kept it from joining Girona at the top of the standings after 12 rounds.

Girona had moved three points clear with a 4-2 win at Osasuna on Saturday. Madrid would have taken the lead on goal difference by beating Rayo.

Madrid controlled most of the match but couldn't capitalize on its scoring opportunities, with both Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior unable to break through the Rayo defense.

"We are upset with the result, but not with how we played," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "Sometimes you win a match that you don't deserve to win and sometimes you don't win a match that you deserve to win. We are still doing well in the standings. We are still in the fight. There's no drama."

Madrid had won 11 straight against Rayo at home in the league. The Madrid clubs had not drawn in their last 21 league matches, with 19 wins for Madrid and only two for Rayo.

The result extended Rayo's unbeaten run in the league to an unprecedented eight games, with two wins and six draws. Barcelona, which won 1-0 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, remained in third place, two points behind Madrid. Rayo was ninth.

Brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams led Athletic Bilbao to a 3-2 win at Villarreal. The Basque Country club moved to fifth place, four points behind fourth-place Atletico Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Las Palmas on Friday.

Eighth-place Valencia beat Granada 1-0 with a penalty kick converted by Pepelu seven minutes into first-half injury time at Mestalla Stadium.

Almeria's search for its first win of the season will continue after a 1-0 loss at Alaves.

Juve keep pace with Inter

Juventus kept pace with Serie A leaders Inter Milan thanks to Sunday's 1-0 win at Fiorentina in a match controversially played despite deadly floods, while Romelu Lukaku fired Roma to a late 2-1 win over Lecce.

Massimiliano Allegri's side are two points behind Inter after a hard-fought win in Florence earned thanks to Fabio Miretti's first goal for the club in the 10th minute.

"I'm happy because I was looking for it for a long time and finally it's arrived. I hope others are going to come," said Miretti to DAZN. Fiorentina could not rally from Miretti sweeping in Filip Kostic's low cross and drop to eighth, level on 17 points.

Jose Mourinho's Roma looked set for a shock defeat at the Stadio Olimpico when Pontus Almqvist netted Lecce's opener in the 71st minute.

But Iran striker Sardar Azmoun pulled the hosts level in the 91st minute with a bullet header -- his first goal in Serie A -- and Lukaku brought the house down three minutes later with a rifled finish.

Lukaku's winner was redemption as he would have bore the brunt of the blame for a defeat after missing a sixth-minute penalty and another golden opportunity eight minutes after the break, but ended the match in Mourinho's arms and hailed by the raucous home crowd.

Roma are seventh, four points away from the Champions League spots and one ahead of Lazio who lost at Bologna on Friday.

Cagliari moved out of the relegation zone with their second straight win, 2-1 against fellow promoted outfit Genoa.

Claudio Ranieri's side sit a point ahead of Verona who are just inside the relegation zone after falling to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Monza. (AP)