REAL Madrid was left to rue a series of near misses Sunday as the side stumbled to a 0-0 home draw with Athletic Bilbao, dropping two points adrift of Barcelona in a tight Spanish title race.

Zinedine Zidane will face questions about Madrid’s scoring slump. The slip at the Santiago Bernabeu came after drawing 1-1 at Valencia and 0-0 at Barcelona over the past week.

One goal in three matches is a paltry return for one of the richest clubs in the world.

“Having had so many chances, we are a bit angry at ourselves, but this is football,” Zidane said. “In the last three games we have had many scoring chances but few goals. I don’t think it is bad luck or a lack of killer instinct. The important thing is that we are creating chances. We will keep that up and the goals will come.”

The league resumes in the first week of January.

Madrid dominated possession but the goalkeeping of Unai Simon, the woodwork, and the lack of a scoring touch saved Bilbao.

Toni Kroos, Nacho Fernandez, and Luka Jovic all sent shots off the goal-frame for the hosts.

Simon stopped Vinicius Junior in front of his goal after the young Brazilian had cut back around the final defender in the game’s first scoring opportunity in the 12th minute. Vinicius squandered two more opportunities, not cleanly connecting with Luka Modric’s cross before he failed to control a loose ball in the goalmouth. (SD-Agencies)