Karim Benzema misses late penalty as Real Madrid held by Osasuna

Karim Benzema missed a late penalty as Real Madrid dropped their first points this season after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna, who had a man sent off late on, in La Liga on Sunday. Vinicius Jr gave the champions the lead just before halftime with a long-range shot but the visitors equalised after the break through Kike Garcia, who scored with a brilliant header from the edge of the area that looped over the goalkeeper. Benzema fired his penalty off the bar and over in the 79th minute, after being fouled inside the area by defender Unai Garcia, who was shown a straight red card after a VAR check. The France striker had a goal chalked off a minute later for offside and Vinicius had a bullet shot kept out by Sergio Herrera a little later, as Real Madrid pressed for the win. Osasuna, however, held on to take a point to the frustration of the home fans.

Real Madrid are level with rivals Barcelona on 19 points at the top of standings, with Barca ahead on goal difference. The point at Santiago Bernabeu lifted Osasuna to sixth on 13 points. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had a major selection headache after Croatia midfielder Luka Modric reported back from international duty nursing an injury and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was a surprise late omission after suffering with a nerve problem in his back. On the positive side, Benzema made his long-awaited comeback after three weeks out with a right knee injury. The striker was lively up-front alongside Vinicius Jr and almost scored early in the first-half from a cross by the Brazilian, firing a splendid first-time volley that went narrowly wide of the left post. Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin proved a solid replacement for Courtois, denying efforts by Jon