RCD Espanyol shocked La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday with a late goal from Carlos Romero, securing a 1-0 victory.
Vinicius Jr appeared to have given Real the lead in the 21st minute after latching onto Kylian Mbappe’s pass. However, the goal was disallowed after the Frenchman had fouled Espanyol’s Pol Lozano in the build-up.
The hosts kept Real at bay in the second half, with Lucas Vazquez, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham all having efforts brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
The visitors were aggrieved when, on a breakaway attack, Romero fouled a running Mbappe from behind, but was only shown a yellow card as the Real players appealed for a VAR review for a possible red card instead.
“This foul is inexplicable, the decision they made, the referee, the VAR. The most important thing is to take care of the player and protect him. It was a very bad tackle that risked injury, which fortunately did not happen,” said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian manager brought on Luka Modric, Brahim Diaz and Raul Asencio, but they failed to produce any magic, and it was Romero who broke the deadlock in the 85th minute.
The defender seized on Omar El Hilali’s through ball and scored, lifting Espanyol to 17th place with 23 points, just above the relegation zone.
“I think this gives us life, we were playing good matches, competing, we had to suffer. Our people give us an edge and at home we have to be strong, it’s going to be very difficult to take points away from us here,” said Romero.
Real Madrid currently has 49 points, one point ahead of Atletico Madrid, who won 2-0 against Mallorca. This sets up an exciting Spanish capital derby at Santiago Bernabeu next weekend. Third-placed is Barcelona, who play Alaves on Sunday, and are on 42 points.
