Olaleye Idowu
Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Espanyol on Saturday night, as they stumbled in their bid to retain the LaLiga title.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men lost the game thanks to a late Carlos Romero strike.
Vinicius Jr. thought he had given Madrid the lead in the 21st minute after running onto Kylian Mbappe’s pass.
But the goal was chalked off after Mbappe was adjudged to have fouled Espanyol’s Pol Lozano in the build-up.
The hosts kept Los Blancos at bay in the second half, with Lucas Vazquez, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham all having their efforts saved by goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
They then scored what proved to be the winning goal with five minutes left, as Romero latched onto Omar El Hilali’s pass.
The result means Madrid have 49 points and are one point clear of Atletico Madrid, who beat Mallorca 2-0 earlier on Saturday.
Espanyol moved up to 17th in the table with 23 points.
Barcelona, who are third with 42, will have the chance to narrow the gap when they face Girona on Sunday.
