MADRID — Real Madrid faced a surprising defeat on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Espanyol, who are battling against relegation in La Liga.
The match concluded with defender Carlos Romero scoring a late goal that not only secured victory for Espanyol but also moved the team out of the relegation zone.
This win allowed Espanyol to pull two points clear of the bottom three, while Real Madrid saw their lead at the top of the table reduced to just one point following Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win over Mallorca earlier in the day.
Madrid headed into the clash with Espanyol riding high from a run of ten victories across eleven matches in all competitions.
However, despite their strong form, they were unable to capitalize on their early dominance.
In the 21st minute, Vinícius Júnior appeared to have given Madrid the lead with a well-placed shot, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul committed by Kylian Mbappé against Espanyol’s Pol Lozano.
Madrid’s failure to convert their chances proved costly when, with just five minutes remaining, Romero connected with a cross from Omar El Hilali, volleying it into the net and igniting celebrations among the home supporters.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid looked to bounce back after suffering losses in their previous two league matches.
Entering their game against Mallorca, Atletico had recorded only two wins in their last four outings, a sharp contrast to their earlier run of 15 consecutive wins.
Atletico broke the deadlock in the 26th minute when Giuliano Simeone outpaced defenders down the right, setting up Samuel Lino to strike a precise shot into the bottom right corner.
In the closing stages, Rodrigo Riquelme was close to extending their lead, hitting the crossbar with a free kick.
However, it was substitute Antoine Griezmann who secured the points, deftly chipping the goalkeeper in stoppage time following a brilliant through ball from Riquelme.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Villarreal delivered a commanding performance to defeat bottom-placed Real Valladolid with a score of 5-1, while Getafe and Sevilla played to a stalemate, ending the match 0-0.
