David Beckham was dropped by Real Madrid on Saturday but the Spanish giants still saw their season spiral into crisis as Espanyol handed them a 1-0 defeat just three days after they were destroyed by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Playing without the injured Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo, coach Jose Antonio Camacho also dropped skipper Raul following the devastating loss in Germany and called-up Juan Fran to replace Beckham.
Michael Owen was handed the first start of his Spanish career but was eventually replaced by Fernando Morientes in the second half.
To make matters worse for Real, their Spanish international goalkeeper Iker Casillas was injured in the warm-up and they finished the match in Barcelona with 10 men and having seen Ronaldo miss a penalty.
”There were some players who were injured on Wednesday and it was also a chance to rest others because they didn’t have time to recover,” said Camacho.
”It should have meant freshness in the side but it was a shock to see so many errors. But I am not making any excuses for defeat.
”We have another match on Tuesday [at home to Osasuna] and we must prepare for that. All the problems can be solved.”
Espanyol seized their chance against a dispirited Real and four minutes from the interval scored the only goal of the game when Argentinian Maxi Rodriguez picked up a pass from skipper Raul Tamudo to score past Cesar.
Tamudo could have put his side in front earlier in the first half, but he missed a twice-taken penalty.
Beckham was summoned from the bench 10 minutes into the second half and sparked a better performance but Ronaldo squandered Real’s best opportunity when he also missed a penalty that he had won in the 50th minute.
It got worse for Camacho’s side with Argentinian defender Walter Samuel sent off for a second yellow card and, despite carving out plenty of opportunities, the 10 men of Real were unable to break through as Espanyol went top of the table.
Espanyol only escaped relegation from the top flight on the final day of last season.
In Saturday’s other early match, Osasuna beat Real Betis 3-2. — Sapa-AFP