Espanyol 1–0 Real Madrid: Player Ratings As Los Blancos Crumble in Barcelona

SI Soccer

·1 Februari 2025

Espanyol 1–0 Real Madrid: Player Ratings As Los Blancos Crumble in Barcelona

A frustrating night against Espanyol ended with Real Madrid dropping points in La Liga for the first time in over a month.

Although Real Madrid arrived at RCDE Stadium as the heavy favorites, nothing seemed to go right for Carlo Ancelotti's men in the first half. Antonio Rüdiger was forced to come off the pitch due to injury just 15 minutes into the match, leaving Los Blancos' already makeshift backline even weaker. Then, Vinícius Júnior saw VAR wipe away his goal for a foul committed by Kylian Mbappé in the build-up.

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The defending Spanish champions went into the locker room deadlocked at 0–0 against 18th-place Espanyol. The second half soon proved to be just as frustrating as the first, and tensions threatened to boil over when Carlos Romero was only given a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Mbappé.

Just when a draw looked all-but guaranteed, Espanyol caught Real Madrid out on the counter attack and buried the lone goal of the night. Romero, who was fortunate to not be sent off earlier, sealed all three points for the hosts in the 85th minute.

Los Blancos now only have a one-point gap over Atlético Madrid atop the La Liga standings. With Real Madrid set to host the Madrid derby next weekend, they could very quickly come to regret their poor performance in Barcelona.