In the 22nd round of La Liga, Real Madrid suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Espanyol, marking their third loss of the season. The only goal of the match came in the 85th minute, courtesy of Carlos Romero, securing a crucial victory for the Catalan side.

This result has allowed Atlético Madrid, currently in second place, to close the gap to just one point behind their city rivals. Meanwhile, Espanyol climbed out of the relegation zone, moving up to 17th place in the table.

2024-25, Spain - La Liga

Espanyol - Real 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Serrano Carlos, 85 (1:0)

Espanyol: García Jo.; Kumbulla; Cabrera L.; Gonzalez U. (Roca, 66); Král; Serrano Carlos; El Hilali; Lozano P.; Jofre Carreras (Tejero, 67); Jaen R. (Véliz, 74); Javi Puado (Calero F., 83)
Bench: Pacheco; Fortuno; Sergi Gomez; Edu Expósito; Aguado; Milla P.; Cheddira
Yellow Cards: Serrano Carlos 61; Kumbulla 90

Real: Courtois; García Fr.; Rudiger (Asencio R., 15); Tchouaméni; Vazquez L. (Diaz Br., 87); Dani Ceballos (Modric, 80); Bellingham; Valverde F.; Vinícius Júnior; Mbappé; Rodrygo
Bench: Lunin Andriy; Mestre; Alaba; Vallejo; Mendy Fe.; Aguado L.; Güler A.; Endrick