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Gerard Moreno struck a 93rd minute goal to help Espanyol beat Real Madrid for the first time in La Liga for over a decade.
Espanyol came closest to scoring in the first half when Moreno’s goal was unfairly ruled out for offside after half-an-hour.
Espanyol arguably had the better of the game and eventually sealed their win in stoppage time as Moreno fired home from 15 yards out to leave Madrid 14 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Here are the five key talking points…
Better late than never
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
With 10 goals and one assist in 26 La Liga games this season, Gerard Moreno has been Espanyol’s best player by some distance.
However for all the world it looked like this was not going to be the forward's night.
Moreno wasted Espanyol’s best chance of the game, capitalising after Raphael Varane’s error but seeing Navas deny him when it seemed the hosts were poised to go ahead.
He thought he made amends after finishing superbly, before being wrongly adjudged to be offside.
Then in the second half Moreno had another effort at goal which Navas did well to deny, and in the 88th minute, he received the ball in the area, cut inside onto his left and bent a shot towards the top left corner, but it sailed inches wide.
Lesser men would have given up all hope. Not Moreno, who in the third minute of stoppage time finally hit the perfect strike to beat Navas and earn his team three points as they bid to move up to mid-table.
Brits abroad
(Image: Getty Images)
Picked to start by Zinedine Zidane, Bale pulled level with former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham on 116 appearances in La Liga, the most made by any British player.
The Welsh winger certainly deserves credit for sticking it out in the Spanish capital but the truth is, as things stand, he is will be viewed ultimately as a failed signing.
Zidane deployed him up front here but, beyond a booking for fouling Sergi Darder and a couple of blocked shots, Bale had little impact in Cornella.
In football everything can change quickly, especially at Madrid, and if he has a big part in another run to the Champions League title, then Bale will be seen as a hero.
But for now it looks most likely that his time at the Bernabeu will end this summer, with a move to the Premier League something that Florentino Perez will encourage as he looks to recoup his 100 million euro investment.
More controversy than action
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
The first half was bereft of much football, bar an early Bale header which was saved and Moreno being denied by Keylor Navas after poor play from Raphael Varane.
However it had its share of controversy, with one decision going against each side that could have been reversed.
Moreno struck after controlling team-mate Carlos Sanchez’s long range strike but was wrongly adjudged to be offside.
Then Bale rattled a shot against Victor Sanchez’s arm, the Espanyol player hitting it twice with that part of his body, but no penalty was awarded.
While it’s true that Victor Sanchez didn’t appear to deliberately handle the ball, we’ve all seen penalties given for far less.
Split loyalties
(Image: AFP)
Matches between Espanyol and Real Madrid are curious because of the nature of Spanish football supporters.
Even if you’re not a Real Madrid or Barcelona fan, you will may have one of the two Spanish giants as your ‘second’ club.
Espanyol fans, for obvious reasons, don’t want their derby rivals and neighbours Barcelona doing well, so thousands of their supporters back Real Madrid.
The team itself has often been accused of bowing down to Los Blancos and accepting defeat. Indeed the last time they beat Real in La Liga was over a decade ago, in October 2007.
That didn’t happen here, with Espanyol fighting until the end, but certainly in the stands there were some split loyalties.
“Melendo, Melendo,” chanted some Espanyol fans, more because he was the man that helped them beat Barcelona than because they wanted to see the youngster appear from the bench.
Eye-and-a-half on PSG
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
The squad list itself was an indication that Real Madrid have one-and-a-half eyes on the Champions League last 16 second leg against PSG next week.
Madrid hold a 3-1 lead in that, but all their hopes are pinned on European glory due to coming into this week 14 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
So Zidane left Cristiano Ronaldo at home to watch on TV, just as he did for the match against Leganes last week.
Casemiro has a stomach problem so was also not selected, while Madrid are missing Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Jesus Vallejo too.
Despite all those absences Zidane also left full-backs Dani Carvajal and Theo Hernandez on the bench, along with Karim Benzema.
If Atletico beat Barcelona on Sunday, then Madrid might believe they have the slimmest of hopes of defending their title, but until then they will be thinking only about more glory overseas, and the road to Kiev.
Madrid would make the trip to Barcelona less than three full days after defeating Alaves convincingly at the Bernabeu. With that in mind, Zidane opted to rotate his squad. Ronaldo was left out completely and Benzema was left on the bench with Theo and Carvajal. Injuries to Modric, Kroos, Marcelo, Vallejo and a stomach bug for Casemiro meant Madrid’s squad would be stretched thin. With options limited, Zidane rolled out a make-shift line up and decided to swap the formation. Kovacic and Llorente would partner as double pivots in a 4-2-3-1 with Gareth Bale as the lone center forward. The team lacked ideas and structure while Gareth Bale has proved once again that he is simply not a striker. Not until the dying minutes of the game, did the team find urgency. Ultimately Espanyol deserved their goal and Madrid and Zidane only have themselves to blame for this loss.
Keylor Navas—8: The man from Costa Rica has been in phenomenal form since the PSG match and continue his good run tonight. His distribution with his feet has noticeably improved; hitting his targets and remaining calm under pressure. Navas was quick off his line and can take no blame in Espanyol’s goal.
Achraf Hakimi—6: One of the youngster’s better performances of the season. He broke pressure by drawing fouls, made crucial interceptions, and used his speed to burst down the right flank. Unfortunately, his crosses were still left wanting and failed to make contribute to the Madrid attack.
Raphael Varane—8: The best of the backline, how often has that been said this season. Made clearance after clearance, won six aerial duels between Moreno/Garcia, and has the ability to use his weak foot to distribute a long range pass and break pressure. Used his speed on countless occasions to bail Madrid out and end any Espanyol counter attack.
Sergio Ramos—7.5: Had three tackles, five interceptions, and one clearance. Was solid in the back, but was caught out a few times pressing the backline high. Fortunately for Ramos, Varane has the speed to cover and snuff out any counter.
Nacho—5.5: Not a poor game for the Spanish international, but far from otherworldly. Misplaced a number of passes when forced on to his usually reliable left foot. Failed to form a good connection with Asensio down the left flank and was unable to make a relevant impact on the Madrid attack. Battled well with Marc Navarro all evening.
Marcos Llorente—6.5: Llorente was solid, but unfortunately for him was placed in a system that did not showcase his strengths. Stuck to the right side of the field and distributed the ball well. Led the team in tackles with Mateo Kovacic, but would have been better placed as a single pivot in order to mitigate his offensive responsibility.
Mateo Kovacic—8: Led the team in tackles with seven, had the best passing accuracy at 93.7%, and had the most completed dribbles. The consistent game time has given Kovacic the opportunity to find rhythm and find his best form again.
Lucas Vazquez—5: After a run of incredible form, Lucas cooled off tonight. The team overall lacked the cutting edge and Lucas was unable to bring the usual danger from the right wing.
Marco Asensio—5: Marco’s performance was similar to that of Lucas Vazquez. With no true center forward, there was no one to make their runs off of or anyone to direct their crosses to when flying down the flanks.
Isco—4.5: Played as withdrawn striker in his preferred #10 role. He moved throughout the field in search of a reference (a center forward) to play off of, but instead stuck closer to the left wing with Bale and Asensio. With no true structure and no central reference, Isco and the team struggled.
Gareth Bale—4: A phenomenal player, but not a center forward. Zidane should end this experiment. Bale attempted to make some direct runs and beat the Espanyol backline with his pace, but was never found. He drifted more and more to the left wing and with no central striker, there were no goal threats to find when out on the wing.
Substitutions:
Karim Benzema—4.5: The Frenchman was brought on to save the game. Unfortunately, Karim could not make the desired impact. He continually came deeper to find the ball, playing almost as a #10 when the team was crying out for a target forward to play off of and draw the Espanyol line out.
Dani Ceballos—4: Had some nice touches and always tirelessly runs to close down opponents. But, assumed that the defense would cover Moreno and got sucked to the ball and leaving Gerard Moreno free to volley home his 92nd minute goal.
Borja Mayoral—N/A: Played the final two minutes.
Manager:
Zinedine Zidane—3: After gaining momentum, raising the team’s level, and distributing minutes well, Zidane lost the plot tonight. Playing Gareth Bale as a striker was a mistake and the Frenchman should have adjusted things at halftime. It seemed like one too many rotations tonight and the tactical structure was all wrong failing to give player with limited minutes clear roles.
MOTM: Mateo Kovacic
Noticia Realmadrid TV emite hoy una nueva entrega de su ciclo de cine Ofrece a partir de las 22:30 h ‘Íntimo y personal’, película protagonizada por Michelle Pfeiffer y Robert Redford.
Real Madrid’s enduring reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo was in evidence again as Zinedine Zidane left his top scorer at home and watched his side fail to score and then concede late to lowly Espanyol.
Quique Sanchez Flores' team had not beaten Real Madrid in their last 20 attempts in the league but with Gerard Moreno's injury time winner they could celebrate a famous win.
Sergio Ramos was up the other end of the pitch when Moreno scored the winner. Ramos was trying to do what the Madrid forwards had failed to do for 90 minutes but his plan backfired.
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