Cristiano Ronaldo was rested and the supporting cast failed to show up as Real Madrid endured a shock 1-0 defeat away to Espanyol on Tuesday.
Gerard Moreno struck in the 94th minute at the RCDE Stadium as Real’s rotated line-up felt the full punishment for a slack and disjointed display.
Here, we rate the players from both teams.
ESPANYOL
Diego Lopez 6 – Made a decent stop from Bale’s early header and then did well to divert a dangerously deflected cross. Had little else to do but always looked comfortable.
Navarro 6 – Perhaps the least attack-minded full-back in La Liga, he stuck solely to the task of containing Asensio and did that job pretty well.
David Lopez 7 – As he generally does, kept it simple at the back: see ball, clear ball. Nothing fancy but helped to nullify the attacking threat of the visitors.
Duarte 7 – Solid in the centre of defence and hit the top of the bar with a looping header from a corner.
Martin 6 – A smooth and assured performance from a player whose cool composure belies his 20 years. Booked for a bad challenge on Vazquez.
Darder 5 – Supposedly Espanyol’s most creative player, he was extremely subdued and unable to get on the ball enough from his right wing position. Hardly any more influential after moving to the middle when Granero came on.
C Sanchez 7 – A good harrying job in the midfield battleground, doing well to regularly break up Madrid’s possession. This was his kind of game – scrappy and lacking in creativity – and he rose to the task capably.
V Sanchez 5 – Hard working but very poor with his use of the ball, frequently conceding possession with wayward distribution. Replaced by Granero midway through the second half.
Piatti 6 – An occasional bright spark down the left wing, showing a willingness to run with the ball and take on his man. Sent a tough volley over with Espanyol’s first sight of goal. Replaced with ten minutes remaining.
Garcia 5 – A poor performance from the veteran frontman – until he delivered a nice pass for the last minute winner. Otherwise wasted possession in a few promising positions. Had a narrow angled strike beaten away by Navas and fired a long-range volley narrowly wide.
Moreno 9 – Comfortably the game’s best performer, capping an excellent display with a superb finish for the winner. Squandered a great chance in the first half by shooting too close to Navas, then had a goal disallowed for a very narrow offside decision, saw a stretching volley saved by Navas and forced another good save with a strong header before his late heroics.
SUBS
Granero 6 – Former Madrid man came onto the right of midfield and was steady enough for the final 20 minutes.
Baptistao 5 – A late entrant down the left wing but had some heavy touches and little else.
Isco (l) and Gerard Moreno
REAL MADRID
Navas 7 – A good display in goal, especially with a key pair of saves from Moreno to preserve his clean sheet until the final seconds, when he could do nothing to stop the winner.
Achraf 6 – By far the most attacking of the four full backs on display, but with little end product to show for his forays forward other than one low shot which Lopez saved easily. Tired near the end.
Varane 6 – Generally solid in defence but showed his propensity for needless mistakes by making a poor pass to gift Moreno a great chance. Sent a header inches wide from a first half corner.
Ramos 6 – Mostly solid in the centre of defence for Madrid, comfortably handling Garcia and not missing a challenge, although he did occasionally look troubled by the clever movement of Moreno and was nowhere to be seen for the late winner.
Nacho 6 – Conservative performance on the left wing, limiting himself to his defensive tasks but barely crossing the halfway line.
Llorente 6 – Did an unfussy fetching and carrying job in front of the back four for the visitors. Dragged a half chance wide near the end of the first half, but generally did no harm for his quest to gain more minutes.
Kovacic 7 – An energetic display, covering every inch from box to box and with some moments of real quality. Warmed Lopez’s hands with a rising shot from the edge of the box. Came off for the last two minutes.
Isco 5 – Had a free role in midfield, which should be his favoured position, but he disappointed. Sent a free kick well over the bar and had a weak low shot saved, but didn’t create enough and was replaced midway through the second period.
Asensio 5 – Well below his best. Produced the fanciest move of the night with a crafty backheel pass but was generally haphazard and often too hesitant on the edge of the box.
Bale 6 – Lining up as a central striker, he nearly scored early when a close range header was saved. Had a penalty appeal for handball turned down later in the half and couldn’t trouble Lopez with a couple more efforts. Very peripheral in general play but a danger in the box.
Vazquez 5 – Well below his recent high standards, making few inroads down the right wing. Like most of his teammates, not enough impact.
SUBS
Benzema 5 – Into the action midway through the second half but barely featured, lacking support and offering no penetration.
Ceballos 5 – Came on for Bale for the last ten minutes but the game was played around him.
Mayoral N/A – Introduced in the dying stages and barely had a kick.
