Real Madrid made their first start of the season without the Spaniard in the starting line-up, then fell

On Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti became the first Real Madrid coach not to field a single Spaniard in the starting line-up.His charges subsequently fell short against Villarreal and lost important points in the title fight.

Real Madrid went into Saturday’s game with two wins from their post-Christmas matches. Firstly, they won 2-0 at Valladolid, then they defeated Cacereno in the cup after a poor performance.

In the third game Real played an unconventional line-up. For the first time in its 121-year history, it did not have a single Spanish national in its starting eleven.

Meanwhile, there were six on the bench. The yellow submarine was surprisingly more active, but it wasted its first two big chances.

On the other side, the ageless Pepe Reina saved Vinicius on a great opportunity and the game was scoreless.

After the change of sides, the home fans were already celebrating, with Yeremi Pino making no mistake with a right-footed shot in the 47th minute. Ten minutes later, after watching a replay, the head referee awarded a penalty to Real for a minor touch on Juan Foyth’s arm.

Karim Benzema took the ball and equalized. However, just three minutes later, David Alaba played a handball on the other side and Gerrard Moreno gave the home side the lead back 2-1. For the second time, the favourite did not return to the match.

Real remain second in the table, one point behind Barcelona, who have a game in hand. Villarreal moved up to fifth place with the unexpected triumph, but could still drop to seventh by the end of the round.

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