Carlo Ancelotti’s side slumped to a poor loss on the road as their star attackers fell short.
Real Madrid were punished for a poor performance Saturday evening, losing 1-0 to a well-organized Espanyol side to give Atletico Madrid and Barcelona life in the title race. Los Blancos had the majority of the ball, but a lack of cutting edge in front of goal saw the league leaders slump to a drab away loss.
Carlo Ancelotti’s thought they had the lead after 20 minutes, when Vinicius Jr curled a wonderful effort into the bottom corner. But a foul in the build up from Kylian Mbappe saw it disallowed. Espanyol defended diligently otherwise, and limited Madrid chances for the majority of the first half.
The story was largely the same after the break. Madrid showed plenty of intent, but found little joy. There were constant shots, without much material to show for them. Rodrygo came close with 15 minutes remaining, cutting inside his man before hitting the post with a poked effort. Mbappe, too, nearly found the net – only to lash the ball wide.
And Espanyol made them pay for it all. The home side pieced together a fluid counter-attack that ended with a side-footed finish from left-back Carlos Romero. It was entirely deserved, in the end, Los Blancos showing that this title might be harder to win than we all thought.
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