MADRID, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Espanyol produced one of the surprises of the season to date when they defeated La Liga leaders Real Madrid 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Goals from former Real Madrid striker Raul de Tomas and Aleix Vidal put Espanyol 2-0 ahead and although Karim Benzema pulled a goal back for Madrid with 19 minutes left to play, Espanyol held on for what is just their fourth win against them in the last 33 meetings.
The result is another setback for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti coming on the back of last weekend's 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal and a surprise Champions League defeat to Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in midweek. Those defeats saw the first questions asked about the Italian, who will no doubt face a difficult couple of weeks before his side are next in action.
Real Madrid have struggled for balance in defense this season and they were behind in the 17th minute when De Tomas reacted quickly to divert Adrian Embarba's near post cross past Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid were enjoying around 70 percent of possession, but were struggling to create clear chances as Vinicius Jr looked flat after his positive start to the season and Espanyol remained organized at the back.
At the other end Embarba and De Tomas continued to give problems to Madrid with the striker twice firing wide after good work from the winger.
Winger Rodrygo replaced Eduardo Camavinga early in the second half as Ancelotti looked for more penetration in attack, but it was Espanyol who doubled their lead thanks to a brilliant magnificent goal from Vidal, who received the ball just inside the Madrid half, before slipping the ball past Nacho Fernandez and beating Courtois.
Sergi Darder should have added a third after a defensive error set him clear through on goal but he fired just wide with just Courtois to beat.
Chinese striker Wu Lei came on as a 65th minute substitute to replace Vidal.
It's always dangerous to let Real Madrid off the hook and Benzema showed why as he beat two defenders to send an unstoppable shot past Diego Lopez with 19 minutes left to play. He headed just wide as Real Madrid looked for an equalizer, but Espanyol held on for a brave win. Enditem
原文地址：http://english.sina.com/sports/2021-10-04/detail-iktzscyx7794708.shtml