Spanish bulls get Real mad after loss
Madrid, Oct. 20: Real Madrid failed to ease the pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui and instead set the record for the longest goal- drought in the club’s history during a surprise 2- 1 defeat by Levante on Saturday.
Madrid have now gone five games without a victory and by the time Marcelo gave them hope of a comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu, they had gone 481 minutes without a goal too — the club’s previous worst run had been 464 minutes, in 1985.
For a team that prides itself on flair and flamboyance, it is a streak that reflects just as badly on Lopetegui as the results, which could leave Real Madrid four points adrift of Barcelona later on Saturday, with a ‘ Clasico’ to come next weekend at the Camp Nou.
If Barca’s players were watching, they would have been licking their lips at the sight of Raphael Varane handing Levante a twogoal lead after just 13 minutes. Jose Luis Morales and Roger Marti, from the penalty spot, were the beneficiaries.
At the final whistle, Lopetegui stood on the touchline, with his hands on his hips, staring ahead in disbelief.
He had left Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema on the bench, perhaps due to fitness issues, and the gamble backfired, despite both making a difference when brought on in the second half.
Lopetegui had cited a lack of luck in recent weeks and Madrid were not blessed with it here. They hit the crossbar twice and the post once. They suffered a twogoal Real Madrid
( Marcelo 72)
Levante
( Jose Luis Morales 7, Roger Marti 13- pen) 1 2
swing as a result of the Video Assistant Referee, one against called as a penalty, and one ruled out for offside.
But a single goal, from their 30year- old left- back, in over eight hours is no fluke, and neither are the defensive lapses that could have seen Levante add more to their early double.
Levante were two up in 13 minutes and both came from Varane mistakes. The first was more blatant as he misjudged the flight of Sergio Postigo’s through ball, allowing Morales to nick it round Thibaut Courtois and fire into the open net.
It got worse as Varane handled and VAR advised the error had been inside the box. Roger converted the penalty. — AFP