Ten-man Real Madrid lose at Levante
Reuters - Sunday 18 September 2011, 21:54
MADRID - Ten-man Real Madrid slumped to a
surprise 1-0 defeat at Levante on Sunday as the tiny
Valencia-based club ended the nine-times European champions'
perfect start to the season.
Jose Mourinho's side had midfielder Sami Khedira sent off
five minutes before half-time and fell behind when Levante
forward Kone, who joined from Sevilla in the close-season,
smashed the ball into the net with just over 20 minutes left.
Real's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, top scorer in
the league last season with a record 40 goals, started on the
bench after he sustained a gashed ankle in the 1-0 Champions
League win at Dinamo Zagreb in midweek.
Coach Mourinho brought his compatriot on at the break to
replace the ineffective Karim Benzema but not even the former
World Player of the Year could find an equaliser.
The result leaves Real on six points from three matches, one
behind champions Barcelona, who romped to an 8-0 victory at
Osasuna on Saturday with a devastating performance after a poor
week by their high standards.
Pep Guardiola's side, bidding for a fourth straight domestic
title, had been accused of complacency after blowing leads
against Real Sociedad in La Liga and AC Milan in the Champions
League to twice draw 2-2.
Valencia, who beat Sporting Gijon 1-0 away on
Saturday, are top on a perfect nine points and ahead of promoted
Real Betis on goal difference after the Seville-based outfit
beat Marcelo Bielsa's Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in Sunday's late
kick-off.
Both sides had a player sent off. Former Argentina and Chile
coach Bielsa is still looking for a first win of the campaign
after taking over at the Basque club in the close season.
HUGE GAP
Levante have an annual budget of around 20 million euros, compared with Real's of just under 500 million,
but the home side made a mockery of the huge gap in wealth with
a stirring performance at their 25,000-capacity Ciutat de
Valencia arena.
The club narrowly avoided relegation last season having won
promotion to the top flight the previous campaign and held Real
to a 0-0 draw in the same fixture just under a year ago.
German international Khedira was shown a second yellow card
after getting caught up in a melee and shoving the home side's
captain Sergio Ballesteros to the ground.
Mourinho, who joked before the game that Real's priority
this season was to avoid relegation, laid the blame for the
defeat squarely on Khedira's shoulders.
"The one responsible for the defeat is Khedira," the former
Chelsea and Inter Milan manager told a news conference.
"I congratulate Levante, they are clever, they know how to
provoke and that is also part of football," he added.
In the earlier kick-off, Atletico Madrid's new signing
Radamel Falcao lit up the Calderon with a splendid hat-trick to
set Gregorio Manzano's side on their way to a 4-0 win at home to
Racing Santander.
The Colombian striker, top scorer in last season's Europa
League with 17 goals as he led Porto to the title, netted the
opener in the 23rd minute at a sun-bathed stadium after good
work by former Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes.
His second came from the penalty spot in the 36th after
Brazilian Diego, another close-season addition to the squad, had
been felled in the box.
Atletico's third high-profile new signing, Turkey midfielder
Arda Turan, then played Falcao through to complete his treble
with a deft chip over Tono 10 minutes after the break.
ROUSING OVATION
Brought in to help fill the gap left by the departures of
Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, it was the Colombian's first
hat-trick in a domestic European league, although he netted
three in last season's Europa League.
He was given a rousing ovation by the home fans when he was
substituted midway through the second half.
Turan claimed his second assist with just over 10 minutes
left when he crossed for substitute Adrian to glance a header
past Tono for the home side's fourth to round off their first
win of the campaign.
Real Zaragoza forward Luis Garcia had an eventful match
against his former club Espanyol in Sunday's earlier kick-off,
smashing in a stoppage-time winner for a 2-1 victory minutes
after he seeing his penalty saved by Cristian Alvarez.
Garcia, who joined Zaragoza in the close season, put his new
club ahead in the 29th minute before Javi Lopez equalised with
20 minutes left.
In Sunday's Madrid derby, promoted Rayo Vallecano claimed
their first win of the campaign with a 1-0 success at Getafe.