Record champion Real Madrid gambled away their first points and lead in the Spanish soccer championship.
With the former world champion Toni Kroos in the starting line-up, the Champions League group opponents of cup winners RB Leipzig against CA Osasuna did not get beyond a sobering 1-1 (1-0) despite being outnumbered in the final phase. As a result, the Madrilenians had to cede the top position to their arch-rivals FC Barcelona, who had the same number of points.
The Catalans had already presented the day before with their 1-0 (1-0) win at Real Mallorca.
The winning goal for Bayern Munich’s preliminary round opponents in the European premier class was scored by Polish world footballer Robert Lewandowski after just 20 minutes.
Bankruptcy for BVB opponents FC Sevilla
Meanwhile, FC Sevilla suffered a setback before the Champions League duel on Wednesday (9 p.m. / DAZN) with German runner-up Borussia Dortmund.
The Andalusians conceded their fourth defeat of the season in their dress rehearsal for the Westphalia guest appearance against Atletico Madrid, Champions League opponents of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, with 0:2 (0:1) in front of their home crowd.
Real, who hosted the Ukrainian representative Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday, tried in vain for the lead for a long time. The lead by Vinicius Junior three minutes before the break on preparatory work by Bayern’s former defense chief David Alaba with a long-range shot did not provide the hoped-for security.
Bitter evening for Karim Benzema
After Osasuna’s equalizer by Kike Garcia (50′) and a red card against guest player Unai Garcia (78′), the home side still had a chance to win from a penalty kick, but star striker Karim Benzema only hit the crossbar.
Shortly after, the Frenchman scored, but was caught offside and therefore didn’t receive credit for his goal. Further furious attacks by the hosts remained unsuccessful until the final whistle despite their superior numbers.
On Mallorca, Lewandowski once again made the difference in Barcelona’s favour. With his ninth goal in the seventh league game for the still undefeated Catalans, Munich’s former top scorer made the guests’ sixth win of the current season perfect.
Sevilla’s struggled against ex-champions Atletico a few days before Dortmund’s visit to Spain. Marcos Llorente (29th) and Alvaro Morata (57th) scored the goals for the Madrilenians.