VILLAREAL: Real Madrid missed a chance to go back to the top of the La Liga table after a shocking 1-2 defeat against Villareal on Saturday.
The defending champions suffered their second loss of the season after an assist and goal from Villareal striker Gerard Moreno at El Madrigal, keeping table toppers Barcelona ahead in the title race.
The hosts opened the scoring through Yeremy Pino just after the break but a dubious handball call allowed Real Madrid to level in the 60th minute with Karim Benzema hitting the penalty,
But, the lead was restored quickly after David Alba handled Juan Foyth in the penalty area and Moreno fired home from the spot to secure points for Villareal, who climbs up to fifth after winning their third consecutive league game.
Madrid remain second, tie on 38 points with Barcelona who visit fourth-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Despite an unwanted result, Benzema became the joint sixth all-time goal scorer’s in the top Spanish League as he levelled Real legend Alfredo di Stefano’s 227 La Liga goals.
In another Saturday fixture, Mallorca sealed a thrilling 1-0 win over Valladolid, thanks to Abdon Prats’s late decider in stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Girona held Espanyol, who denies Barcelona victory last week in the Catalan derby, to a 2-2 draw after a tense game at RCDE stadium.
The action-filled matches of LaLiga 2022-23 are being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and are simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.
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