Madrid beaten without Ronaldo

Swansea in FA Cup quarter-finals

Real Madrid couldn’t overcome the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and other regular starters yesterday, losing 1-0 to Espanyol in the Spanish league to see their five-game win streak come to an end.

Gerard Moreno scored three minutes into injury time to give Espanyol the victory against the defending champions. The result left Madrid in danger of losing third place to Valencia, who are two points behind going into their match at Athletic Bilbao today.

Madrid stayed seven points behind second-place Atletico and 14 points behind leaders Barcelona. Atletico host Leganes today and Barcelona visit Las Palmas tomorrow.

“We didn’t deserve this goal in the last minute,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We played well, created chances, but things didn’t go our way in the end.”

Ronaldo, who scored eight goals in his last four games, was rested by Zidane to make sure he is fully fit for the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League next week. The European champions won the first match 3-1 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Madrid host Getafe in the Spanish league on Saturday in their final game before the match in Paris.

Swansea coach Carlos Carvalhal got the better of former club Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-0 win yesterday that sent the Welsh club into the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 54 years.

Jordan Ayew and Nathan Dyer both scored from close range in the second half of the fifth-round replay as Swansea set up a match at home to either Tottenham or third-tier Rochdale, who meet in a replay on Wednesday.

Carvalhal — a Portuguese coach known for his humour and colorful analogies — left Sheffield Wednesday in December, was hired by Swansea four days later, and has since done an impressive job in lifting the team toward safety in the Premier League.

Ayew slotted home a rebound in the 55th minute after Tom Carroll’s shot hit one post and span across the goal-line to hit the other upright.

Dyer drove in a low shot for the second goal in the 80th after being played in by Tammy Abraham.

Swansea are one win away from a semi-final match at Wembley Stadium, where they won the English League Cup in 2013.

Espanyol Gerard Moreno (centre) scores against Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Diego Lopez during their Spanish La Liga match at RCDE stadium in Cornella Llobregat, Spain, yesterday.

Swansea City’s Nathan Dyer (left) and Sheffield Wednesday’s Lucas Joao battle for the ball during their FA Cup fifth-round replay at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales, yesterday.