Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid: Los Blancos shocked by hosts as Romero's late goal secures narrow win

LaLiga leaders Real Madrid suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat against struggling Espanyol on Saturday, with a late strike from Carlos Romero sealing the upset. The result leaves Real just one point ahead of Atletico Madrid, who beat Mallorca 2-0, setting up a high-stakes Madrid derby next weekend at Santiago Bernabéu.

Real thought they had taken the lead in the 21st minute, when Vinícius Jr finished off a Kylian Mbappé assist, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul by Mbappé on Pol Lozano in the buildup.

Despite dominating possession, Los Blancos struggled to break through Espanyol’s defense, with Lucas Vázquez, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham all denied by Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

A heated moment came late in the game when Romero fouled Mbappé from behind during a counterattack, but was only shown a yellow card—leading to protests from Real Madrid players and manager Carlo Ancelotti.

"This foul is inexplicable, the decision they made, the referee, the VAR," said Ancelotti. "The most important thing is to take care of the player and protect him. It was a very bad tackle that risked injury, which fortunately did not happen."

With Real pushing for a winner, Romero capitalized in the 85th minute, latching onto a perfect through-ball from Omar El Hilali before firing past the keeper. The victory lifts Espanyol to 17th place on 23 points, just outside the relegation zone.

"I think this gives us life, we were playing good matches, competing, we had to suffer... Our people give us an edge and at home we have to be strong, it's going to be very difficult to take points away from us here," said Romero.

SportsLigue