Real Madrid suffered a severe setback in the championship race of the Spanish league.
With national player Antonio Rüdiger and world champion Toni Kroos in the starting XI, the “Royal” deservedly lost 2-1 (0-0) at FC villa real and missed the temporary jump to the top of “La Liga”.
Mendy misses, Pino scores
Villarreal, who celebrated their third straight league success and underscored their ambitions in the fight for Champions League places, dominated the first half without finding success. Shortly after the break, however, Yeremi Pino finally punished a major mistake by Ferland Mendy and gave the hosts the lead (47th).
Alaba causes penalty
Ballon d’OrWinner Karim Benzema hit back with a hand penalty (60′), but Gerard Moreno also used a hand penalty a little later to score the winning goal (63′). Ex-Munich David Alaba had previously slipped and caused the penalty in a strange way.
Real’s blunder gives leaders FC Barcelona a chance to go three points clear in Sunday’s top game at Atletico Madrid.