Real Madrid stumble again in surprise defeat to Espanyol

Madrid, Oct 3, 2021 (AFP) - Real Madrid slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Espanyol on Sunday as Carlo Ancelotti's side followed up a shock Champions League defeat with a disappointing Liga performance.

Real, who had lost to Moldovan minnows Sheriff Tiraspol on Tuesday, blew a chance to pull ahead of Atletico Madrid, who beat crisis-hit Barcelona 2-0 on Saturday to draw level with their city rivals on 17 points.

Espanyol inflicted Real's first league defeat of the season after taking the lead on 17 minutes at the RCDE Stadium in Catalonia when Raul de Tomas found the net.

Aleix Vidal scored a sparkling second goal after nutmegging Nacho and smashing the ball past Real 'keeper Thibaut Courtois 15 minutes into the second half.

Just as Espanyol appeared to be about to extend their advantage again, Karim Benzema pulled a goal back on 71 minutes, firing into the bottom corner after collecting a pass from Luka Jovic.

Espanyol had won just once in seven games this season but they hung on grimly in five minutes of added time to take all three points.