Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid: Los Blancos' LaLiga lead vanishes with limp display

 

Espanyol's 2-1 win over Real Madrid means Los Blancos now only lead Atletico Madrid at the top of LaLiga on goal difference.

Real Madrid suffered a dismal end to a humiliating week as they were stunned 2-1 by Espanyol, missing out on the chance to restore a three-point lead at the top of LaLiga.

Madrid were the victims of one of the greatest shocks in Champions League history in midweek as they were incredibly beaten 2-1 by Moldovan debutants Sheriff at the Santiago Bernabeu.

And they now only lead LaLiga on goal difference after a limp performance at RCDE Stadium, where Espanyol took a 2-0 lead through goals from Raul de Tomas and Aleix Vidal.

Karim Benzema was in inspired form, and he gave Madrid hope in the 71st minute, yet the visitors were again left to reflect on a humbling despite their star forward's best efforts.

Save for a couple of tame shots from Benzema, Madrid struggled to create chances early on despite dominating possession, and they were punished against the run of play as De Tomas stole in at the near post to turn home Adrian Embarba's low right-wing cross.

Espanyol continued in the ascendancy without adding to their lead in the first half and were fortunate not to be pegged back four minutes into the second as Eder Militao's header drifted wide.

But Madrid's attacking threat remained largely conspicuous by its absence and Espanyol doubled their advantage when former Barcelona man Vidal was allowed to surge into open space from midfield, skip past Nacho and side-foot beyond Thibaut Courtois.

The hosts should have made it 3-0 as Madrid were caught cold on the counter, only for Sergi Darder to make a horrible mess of his finish with only Courtois to beat.

Benzema was then rightly denied by the offside flag but, after Darder stung Courtois' palms at the other end, the France international gave Madrid a chance with a superb individual effort, evading several challenges on the edge of the box before bending a pinpoint strike inside the right-hand post.

And Benzema looked to have teed Eden Hazard up for a spectacular leveller, but the offside flag was again correctly raised as Espanyol held on to deal Madrid an early blow in the title race. 

What does it mean? Madrid's away form, and LaLiga lead, deserts them

Madrid were under pressure to respond after defending champions Atletico Madrid underlined their title credentials with a 2-0 win over Barcelona on Saturday.

But they were second best for far too long against a side that started the day with just six points and lost their advantage at the top while missing out on extending their league unbeaten run away from home to what would have been a club-record 19 games.

Benzema goes it alone

If anybody was going to wrest something from this game for Madrid, it was Benzema. His eight shots were four more than anyone else on the pitch, he hit the target with four and, in addition to his goal, played a game-high four key passes.

Modric goes missing

While Benzema excelled, the usually reliable Modric was ineffectual. It was he whom Vidal powered away from for Espanyol's second and the Croatia star did not play a single key pass before being taken off just after the hour.

What's next?

Madrid host Athletic Bilbao after the international break on October 17. Espanyol take on Cadiz a day later.