Real Madrid suffer shock defeat to Liga minnows Girona in Catalonia
La Liga champions Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 defeat in their first ever league visit to Catalan side Girona on Sunday, conceding two goals in quick succession and falling eight points behind leaders Barcelona.
Spain midfielder Isco tapped in a rebounded shot from Cristiano Ronaldo to open the scoring in the 12th minute in Real Madrid's first visit to Catalonia this season amid the worst political crisis in Spain's 39 years of democracy.
The home side struck the woodwork twice before the break but rallied in the second half and Uruguay international Christian Stuani fired them level in the 54th minute.
Forward Portu then turned in the winning goal four minutes later to the delight of the 13,500 fans crammed into the Montilivi stadium.
Stuani came within inches of scoring again midway through the second half but a one-goal advantage was enough to give Girona their third win in their first campaign in the top flight and inflict a second league defeat on Zinedine Zidane's side.
Real are third in the standings on 20 points, four behind second-placed Valencia while unbeaten leaders Barca have 28.
Real coach Zidane blamed his side's lack of concentration for both of the goals they conceded.
"We did well in the first half but football is about details and the first goal was from a throw in and we weren't focused," he told a news conference.
"I don't think we played badly, we didn't lack intensity or effort, we just lost focused at the most important moments and that's why I'm annoyed.
"We're eight points behind but it won't change anything, we can pick ourselves up, we'll have better days than this and our rivals are going to drop points."
Although Real Madrid have many supporters in Catalonia, they are viewed as the club that is most representative of Spain and the arrival of the team bus at Montilivi was greeted with a smattering of boos and pro-Catalan independence flags.
The political heat intensified two days before their visit when the region's ruling party declared independence from Spain and the central government responded by dissolving the Catalan parliament.
Deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is from Girona province and a Girona supporter. He was not present at the game but showed his delight at the result with a post on Twitter.
"Girona's victory over one of the best teams in the world can be an example and a reference for many situations," he said.
Despite the political undertones, the atmosphere was no more intimidating for Madrid than any other Liga ground and they were cheered on by hundreds of supporters who mixed with the home fans without any trouble.
Pablo Maffeo, the Manchester City loanee who gained fame for his man-marking job on Lionel Messi, provided the first flash point of the game when his searching cross from the right wing pinged off the far post.
The ball remained in play and Madrid surged up the other end where Ronaldo fired at Girona goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and Isco was ideally placed to tap in the rebound.
Girona's fighting spirit could not be crushed, however, and they staged an incredible turnaround to record arguably the most significant win in their 87-year history.
"We fully deserved it," said Girona coach Pablo Machin.
"The fans have been behind us a long time, we promised we’d let them enjoy La Liga and today was the best atmosphere. If you’d said to me three years ago the fans would leave singing after beating Real Madrid I’d have said you were crazy."
Fekir double keeps Lyon on tails of Ligue 1 leaders
Olympique Lyon kept in touch with the Ligue 1 leaders thanks to a first-half double from Nabil Fekir in a 2-0 victory over bottom club Metz on Sunday.
France international Fekir, doing a fine job filling the hole left by the sale of striker Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal in the summer, took his tally to nine for the season as Lyon clocked up a fourth consecutive victory.
Bruno Genesio's side are in third spot, three points behind champions Monaco and seven adrift of leaders Paris St Germain.
Monaco won 2-0 at Bordeaux on Saturday while PSG, without the suspended Neymar, beat Nice 3-0 on Friday.
Despite the victory Genesio was critical of his side's display against a Metz side who have lost 10 of their first 11 games and look destined for the drop.
"I'm not happy, apart from the first half-hour, we must do better," he said. "What I saw in the second half did not please me. It shows that we are still an immature team."
Lyon face Everton in the Europa League on Thursday.
Leicester hand Puel winning start as Everton's woes continue
Claude Puel made a winning start to his tenure as Leicester City manager after his side defeated Everton 2-0 at home in the Premier League on Sunday.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Jamie Vardy smashed in Riyad Mahrez's right wing cross. Their lead was doubled 11 minutes later when Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny sliced Demarai Gray's left wing cross into his own net.
The result compounded a miserable week for Everton, who had caretaker manager David Unsworth in charge following the sacking of Ronald Koeman last Monday.
Everton remain 18th in the standings, having lost six of their 10 matches this season, while Leicester are up to 11th.
"I was impressed with my players," Puel said. "It was a very good first half and there were good combinations between the players for the first goal."
Puel made two changes to the Leicester team that beat Swansea City last weekend, replacing Shinji Okazaki and Marc Albrighton with Ben Chilwell and Gray, and the promotion of the latter in particular proved instrumental.
The 21-year-old winger was largely to thank for the opening goal. He carried the ball out of defence and through midfield in a brilliant solo run before feeding Mahrez, whose cross landed perfectly at the feet of the on-rushing Vardy.
Gray then switched to the left wing for the second goal, tormenting the Everton defence with his slick footwork and then swinging in a cross that Kenny badly miscued.
Everton could have been given a route back into the game when Christian Fuchs collided with Aaron Lennon inside the box three minutes later, but referee Andre Marriner did not award a penalty.
Kevin Mirallas went close for Everton with two strikes from outside the box in quick succession just before half-time, and Unsworth's side continued to improve and put pressure on Leicester after the break.
But while they had 16 shots to Leicester's nine and 59 per cent of possession, they were unable to create clear-cut chances and fell to their third defeat of the week.
Unsworth said: "The second half was much better. We gave them a two-goal start - in the first half we didn't perform. Our display was much better after the break."
