Wasteful Real Madrid drop points with surprise draw against Levante

Sport360 staff 19:26 09/09/2017

Reigning LaLiga champions Real Madrid dropped points for the second game in a row as Ivi’s early opener earned Levante their share of the spoils from a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.

Zinedine Zidane’s men were held by Valencia before the international break and Lucas Vazquez’s first-half response was only enough for another tie upon the resumption of the league.

Such was Real’s frustration at their inability to break down Levante’s stubborn defence – marshalled superbly by goalkeeper Raul – that wing-back Marcelo saw red at the death.

The home defence, with Sergio Ramos returning, fell asleep in the 12th minute when Ivan Lopez’s long throw-in evaded them all to find Ivi, who just needed to stick out a leg and poke the ball home.

The Valencians could not put further daylight between themselves and Real, though, and Vazquez’s equaliser in the 36th minute dampened their spirits after a bright first-half showing.

Real’s bid to snatch a late winner suffered a blow when Marcelo lashed out to earn a red card. Toni Kroos almost cut through the gloom to clinch it when he rattled a post deep into stoppage time.

In the gallery above, we take a look at some of the best pictures from the game.

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