On a rainy night in Madrid, a toothless Real Madrid dropped two points at home to Real Betis, who were well worthy of their point, playing out a goalless draw.
Borja Iglesias had the best chance of the game, but he was spurned by Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Los Blancos move two points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid, but Los Rojiblancos now have a game in hand over their cross-city rivals.
Barcelona, who have two games in hand over Real Madrid, could also go level on points with Zinedine Zidane’s side if they beat Villarreal on Sunday.
Real Madrid have still not beaten Betis at home since March 2017.
A win for Zinedine Zidane’s side could have taken them level on points with Atletico Madrid at the top of the table and they would actually be the leaders due to their head-to-head advantage over Los Rojiblancos.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side looked a more convincing outfit as they have their eyes set on Europa League football.