Vinicius Jr. had a goal ruled out as La Liga leaders, Real Madrid, slipped to a shock 1-0 loss at Espanyol in the RCDE Stadium on Saturday night.
Signs of a bad night for Carlo Ancelotti’s men first came when Antonio Rudiger had to go off injured after only 15 minutes, with Raul Asencio replacing the German defender.
Then Vinicius Jr. thought he had put Madrid ahead midway through the first half with a curling effort, only for the goal to be struck off after VAR review deemed Kylian Mbappe to have committed a foul in the goal’s build-up.
A goalless first half was followed by more Real Madrid dominance of the game, with the Espanyol keeper making a double save just five minutes into the second half to deny Jude Bellingham and Mbappe on the rebound.
Rodrygo, Vinicius and Mbappe were all denied by Garcia in the course of the second half as the Espanyol keeper racked up seven saves in the game before Carlos Romero smashed the home side in front with five minutes to go.
Madrid put pressure on Espanyol in search of a goal back in the closing stages but the home side held on for a famous win.
The result, coupled with Atletico Madrid winning 2-0 at home to Real Mallorca earlier on Saturday, means Madrid now hold just a one-point lead on top of La Liga, while Espanyol climb out of the relegation provisionally.
Barcelona will also be out to cut the gap between them and Madrid to four points when they host Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.