Spanish La Liga
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Real Madrid 1-2 Levante: Lopetegui under pressure after fourth loss in five games

By Saj ChowdhuryBBC Sport
Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio thought he had scored in the first half, but the effort was ruled out for offside

Real Madrid suffered their fourth loss in five games and set an unwanted record with a defeat by Levante at the Bernabeu.

The result put further pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui, whose side remain fifth in La Liga, three points behind leaders Alaves and a point behind Barcelona, who have yet to play.

"Right now that is the last thing that I'm thinking about," said Lopetegui when asked if he was worried about losing his job.

"I feel more encouraged than ever to continue because the team gave their heart and soul on the pitch. Sooner or later we will come out of this.

"The dressing room was sad but the players are keen to lift themselves up and look to the next game. The players gave everything and we will get out of this situation."

Lopetegui's side were stung twice inside 13 minutes when first Jose Luis Morales and then Roger Marti, from the spot, scored.

Real produced several great chances, with the woodwork and great saves from Oier Olazabal coming to the rescue for the visitors.

The final line of defence was finally breached in the 72nd minute when Marcelo fired a rocket past the Levante stopper - that ended a run of 482 minutes of scoring, although it came 17 minutes too late to prevent them from breaking the mark set back in 1985.

Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno backed coachexternal-link Lopetegui in the lead-up to the match, but with an important game in the Champions League coming up and El Clasico next weekend, there could be renewed pressure for the Los Blancos chiefs to act.

Mid-table Levante seemed the perfect opponent to face, but with a front-line led by the precocious Jose Luis Morales, the visitors had no intention of playing for a point.

Varane at fault for both Levante goals

They attacked from the first whistle and took the lead with only six minutes on the clock. Morales kept his eyes on Sergio Postigo's long ball, as Raphael Varane failed to, took the ball around keeper Thibaut Courtois and slotted in.

It was soon 2-0. Frenchman Varane was at fault again, when he handled inside the area. The referee initially gave a free-kick before VAR ruled the defender had handled in the area. Marti fired in the penalty to leave the home support stunned and Lopetegui crestfallen.

VAR also ruled out goals scored by Real's Marco Asensio and Mariano.

And when Levante's attack was not causing problems for Real, their keeper Oier was frustrating them at the other end.

Oier, who conceded nine goals playing for Granada at the Bernabeu in 2015, pushed a Casemiro header on to the bar, blocked Lucas Vasquez's point-blank shot with his foot and pushed away Gareth Bale's free-kick.

Both Bale and striker Karim Benzema had been brought on in the second half, but it was veteran full-back Marcelo who made the breakthrough when he smacked an effort past Oier 18 minutes from time.

Real tried their utmost to find a second, but Levante's impressive defence held out for a memorable win.

Line-ups

Real Madrid

Formation 4-3-3

  • 25Courtois
  • 19OdriozolaSubstituted forBaleat 45'minutes
  • 5Varane
  • 4Ramos
  • 12MarceloBooked at 90mins
  • 10Modric
  • 14Casemiro
  • 22IscoSubstituted forBenzemaat 60'minutes
  • 17Vázquez
  • 7Mariano
  • 20AsensioSubstituted forCeballosat 60'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Navas
  • 6Nacho
  • 8Kroos
  • 9Benzema
  • 11Bale
  • 23Reguilón
  • 24Ceballos

Levante

Formation 3-1-4-2

  • 13Olazábal
  • 18CabacoBooked at 53mins
  • 15PostigoSubstituted forChemaat 75'minutes
  • 4Suárez Pier
  • 24Campaña
  • 23Remeseiro SalgueiroBooked at 89mins
  • 16RochinaSubstituted forDoukouréat 67'minutes
  • 10Bardhi
  • 3García Aranda
  • 11Morales
  • 9MartíSubstituted forBoatengat 79'minutes

Substitutes

  • 5Doukouré
  • 6Chema
  • 7Simon
  • 19López
  • 20Dwamena
  • 21Boateng
  • 25Fernández
Referee:
Guillermo Cuadra Fernández
Attendance:
63,762

Match Stats

Home TeamReal MadridAway TeamLevante
Possession
Home70%
Away30%
Shots
Home33
Away6
Shots on Target
Home12
Away2
Corners
Home15
Away1
Fouls
Home10
Away19

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Real Madrid 1, Levante 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Real Madrid 1, Levante 2.

  3. Booking

    Marcelo (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  4. Post update

    Attempt missed. José Luis Morales (Levante) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right following a fast break.

  5. Post update

    Attempt missed. Casemiro (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Chema Rodríguez.

  7. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Marcelo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Casemiro.

  8. Post update

    Attempt missed. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Mariano.

  9. Booking

    Jason (Levante) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  10. Post update

    Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Jason (Levante).

  12. Post update

    Offside, Real Madrid. Karim Benzema tries a through ball, but Mariano is caught offside.

  13. Post update

    Attempt saved. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.

  14. Post update

    Attempt saved. Mariano (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

  15. Post update

    Offside, Levante. Toño tries a through ball, but Emmanuel Boateng is caught offside.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid).

  17. Post update

    José Luis Morales (Levante) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Karim Benzema (Real Madrid).

  19. Post update

    Erick Cabaco (Levante) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marcelo with a cross following a set piece situation.

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Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 20th October 2018

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona953123111218
2Alavés9522128417
3Sevilla95132012816
4Atl Madrid9441105516
5Real Madrid9423139414
6Espanyol8422117414
7Levante94141415-113
8Real Valladolid833276112
9Real Betis833256-112
10Real Sociedad83231211111
11Celta Vigo92431313010
12Valencia917178-110
13Eibar8314912-310
14Villarreal923478-19
15Getafe823367-19
16Girona82331013-39
17Leganés9225813-58
18Ath Bilbao7142913-47
19Rayo Vallecano7124715-85
20Huesca8125718-115
View full Spanish La Liga table