Sports

Espanyol extend Real Madrid’s slump despite Benzema’s efforts

Sports Desk, Oct 3 (EFE).- A late revival led by French forward Karim Benzema was not enough to prevent Real Madrid from suffering a 2-1 La Liga defeat by mid-ranked Espanyol on Sunday.

Hoping to reverse a recent negative run, the Merengue got dealt an early blow as Espanyol’s Raul de Tomas tapped in a cross by Adrian Embarba in the 17th minute.

Aleix Vidal scored Espanyol’s second goal on a close-range shot after dribbling past Nacho at the one-hour mark, a few minutes before Sergi Darder missed out on a couple of close chances.

It seemed that Espanyol would have to pay for the squandered chances when Benzema found the back of the net on a powerful shot in the 70th minute and it looked like the Madrid squad might finally hit its stride and snatch at least a draw from the jaws of defeat.

The Frenchman also could have scored a few minutes earlier if not for Luka Jovic who was found offside at the beginning of that play and later on when his header hit the woodwork.

And minutes after taking the field, Belgian forward Eden Hazard scored what could have been the equalizer, but it was ruled out as Benzema, who was involved, was offside.

Espanyol, thus, extended Real Madrid’s winless slump to three, after the Merengue had settled for a scoreless draw against Villarreal and were handed a 2-1 Champions League defeat by Sheriff.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid remain on top of the La Liga table momentarily with 17 points, while Espanyol are 13th with nine points.

EFE ta-bp

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