Courtois becomes the fifth Los Blancos player to be carded, also for time-wasting.
90'
Four minutes of added time have been confirmed by the fourth official.
89'
Piatti, who has made quite the difference since coming on, is bundled over by Carvajal who must be careful considering that he’s already on a yellow. However, a promising free-kick opportunity is wasted as Garcia’s effort is sky-high and over Courtois’ goal.
88'
Nacho gets yellow.
Nacho gets booked for a bad challenge on Alex Lopez.
87'
Kroos gallops with confidence through the midfield, and finds Vazquez in the box with a cute pass before the latter is tackled. Espanyol clear the ball away.
85'
Álex López gets yellow.
Vazquez is felled by the combative Alex Lopez, who has been excellent during this second half. The Espanyol midfielder is cautioned for the foul.
81'
Dani Carvajal gets yellow.
R. Rosales has scored a goal for Espanyol! Assist by Marc Roca.
Carvajal gets booked for wasting time, becoming the third Real player to be carded in this match.
Roca chips in a pass that Xavi would be proud of playing, bamboozling Los Blancos’ defence and finding Rosales with pinpoint accuracy.
GOOOAAALLLL!!! ROSALES SCORES AN ABSOLUTE STUNNER!! Roca floats in a pearler of a pass towards the Madrid area, where the substitute Rosales finds himself with the freedom of the RCDE Stadium to power a first-time volley past a frozen Courtois! Manzano had to consult VAR before officially awarding the goal, but it is now 4-2 to Madrid and the hosts now have a glimmer of hope!
79'
Espanyol now find themselves in the ascendancy thanks to Madrid’s one-man disadvantage. However, they still find themselves 4-1 down.
76'
Marcelo enters the game and replaces L. Modrić.
Marcelo is brought on for Modric in Solari’s last substitution of the game in an attempt to shore up the defence following Varane’s sending off.
Minute
Description
75'
Óscar Melendo enters the game and replaces Darder.
Darder comes off for Melendo in Rubi’s final change of the match.
72'
R. Varane goes off after a red card!
VARANE IS SENT OFF!! The substitute Piatti is brought down from behind just outside of the penalty area by the France defender, who happened to be the last man in defence. Madrid must soldier on with 10 men as Marcelo is being readied to come on.
71'
P. Piatti enters the game and replaces Léo Baptistão.
Baptistao, who hasn't been able to shake off his injury in the build-up to Bale's goal, comes off for Piatti.
67'
G. Bale has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by Lucas Vázquez.
Vazquez, who has been so influential throughout this match, sneakily tackles Baptistao before playing in Benzema, then Bale to grab his deserved assist.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! BALE MAKES IT 4-1!! Vazquez does brilliantly to pick the pockets of Baptistao, he exchanges passes with Benzema before finding Bale. The substitute finds time to take a touch in the chaotic box before firing past Diego Lopez!
64'
G. Bale enters the game and replaces Vinícius Júnior.
R. Rosales enters the game and replaces Dídac Vilá.
Rubi also makes a change, hooking off Vila and sending on Rosales for his first substitution of the game.
Solari takes off young Vinicius and brings on Bale in a like-for-like swap for his second change of the match.
62'
Vinicius goes on an electric run towards the Espanyol box and does ever so well to reach the byline, but the busy Diego Lopez is able to stop him before he can cut the ball back to the waiting Vazquez!
56'
Kroos attempts to curl one in from 25 yards out after being played in by Benzema, but his effort is high and wide of Diego Lopez’s goal.
54'
Hermoso gets back up, and play resumes. Not long afterwards, Iglesias is able to find space just outside the box, but his shot is high and over Courtois’ goal.
52'
Benzema plays in Carvajal with a great pass, and the right-back is able to get in the box only for his cut-back to be intercepted before it can reach Vazquez. Madrid get the corner, but Kroos’ delivery is headed away and play ends when Modric buckles Baptistao from behind.
50'
Both sets of fans have livened up a bit now that Bale is warming up in the dugout.
47'
Benzema sprays the ball out wide to Vazquez, but the winger’s cross is intercepted before further damage can be dealt. Madrid playing the possession game as they try to thwart an energetic Espanyol from getting back into the game.
46'
Nacho enters the game and replaces Sergio Ramos.
Ramos is hooked off for Nacho for the remainder of the match following the former’s earlier injury scare.
Espanyol get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
45' +3
HALF-TIME: ESPANYOL 1-3 REAL MADRID
45' +1
K. Benzema has scored a goal for Real Madrid!
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! BENZEMA GETS A BRACE!! With half-time approaching, Kroos spreads the ball out wide to Benzema, who runs in on goal before attempting to play in Vinicius. The Brazilian wonderkid is tackled at the vital moment, but Benzema slots the loose ball past Diego Lopez to make it 3-1 at the worst possible time for Rubi’s charges!
44'
Manzano blows his whistle after two Madrid players go down. The free-kick is quickly taken, with Vazquez chipping the ball towards Benzema who meets it with a looping header only for the half-chance to sail away from Diego Lopez’ goal.
41'
Iglesias attempts to latch onto a long ball from deep, but he is effortlessly thwarted by Varane who kept on the chase as well.
39'
Kroos whips in a free-kick following Darder’s foul only for Hermosa to clear it away for another Madrid corner. However, Kroos’ set-piece is easily dealt with by the Espanyol backline only for them to lose possession to Los Blancos once more.
37'
To the jeers of the home support, Ramos gains possession and attempts a Hollywood ball towards Vazquez but for Diego Lopez to comfortably collect it.
34'
Sergio García gets yellow.
Garcia catches Ramos, and Manzano brings out the yellow card for the Espanyol forward while the Real Madrid defender is being looked at by club medics. He gets back up, but Nacho is being readied from the bench just in case.
31'
Espanyol have been growing in confidence since scoring, while Madrid have briefly retreated to something befitting of their early season form. However, the visitors still have the slender advantage despite the noise from the home support.
27'
Sergio Ramos gets yellow.
Ramos trips the goalscorer Baptistao metres from Manzano’s view as the latter charged towards the Madrid half, and the referee has no hesitation in booking the Spain defender. The atmosphere at the RCDE Stadium has changed, and the home faithful are now rocking!
25'
Léo Baptistão has scored a goal for Espanyol!
GOOOAAALLLL!!! ESPANYOL ARE BACK IN IT!! Baptistao makes up for his miss only a minute ago with a powerful strike past Courtois after finding space in the Madrid box following a shot that was deflected by Vazquez!! It’s now 2-1, and the home crowd have raised the volume considerably!
21'
A clash of heads between Carvajal and Iglesias results in the former staying down. Play temporarily stops for him to receive treatment, but he later gets back up and is ready to play on.
15'
Sergio Ramos has scored a goal for Real Madrid! Assist by L. Modrić.
GOOOOAAALLLL!!! RAMOS DOUBLES REAL’S ADVANTAGE!! Real take advantage of Espanyol’s well-documented troubles with defending set-pieces. Modric whips in a teasing cross for the Los Blancos skipper to leap highest and meet with a looping header past a scrambling Diego Lopez for his third goal in two games!! It's 2-0 to Real, and things go from bad to worse for Espanyol!
Modric once again plays a key role in a Madrid goal, as his brilliant cross following Kroos’ short corner was gleefully received by Ramos.
13'
Casemiro trips Alex Lopez as the latter runs on goal, and the home side have a free-kick opportunity around 35 yards out from Courtois’ goal. Garcia dips the set-piece over the top, but the Madrid keeper is able to swiftly come out and gather the ball.
10'
Lovely skill from Vazquez as he ghosts past his marker, but his attempt at a cut-back is easily intercepted by Hermoso in the Espanyol box.
7'
Marc Roca gets yellow.
Roca becomes the first player in the match to be carded for a bad challenge on the returning Kroos. Frustration already showing for the home side who won’t be pleased at conceding so early on.
4'
K. Benzema has scored a goal for Real Madrid!
GOOOAAALLLL!!! MADRID BAG AN EARLY LEAD!! Modric does brilliantly to gallop towards goal with all the freedom of the pitch, and fires an effort that Diego Lopez has to beat away but for the unmarked Benzema to slot it in the back of the net for his eighth league goal of the season! It's 1-0 to Los Blancos, and Rubi couldn’t have wished for a worse start!
2'
Vinicius is released by Kroos and the young Brazilian forward cuts inside from the left before driving a shot that Diego Lopez is able to comfortably collect.
1'
Referee Jesus Manzano blows his whistle, and Real get us underway at the RCDE Stadium!
Espanyol are sporting their home colours of blue-and-white, while the visitors turn out in all-red.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this LaLiga match as Espanyol host Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium!
Having reached the dizzy heights of second in the table at one point during the campaign, Espanyol then managed to record just one win in their last nine league matches to slip down the table to 15th. Head coach Rubi must keep his players focused against their resurgent opponents, given that they have experienced somewhat of a struggle scoring in-front of their own fans having only scored more than once in their previous eight matches in the RCDE Stadium.
Last weekend’s 2-0 victory against Sevilla saw Real temporarily leapfrog them into third after enduring a calamitous start to the season which left them lagging behind the likes of Alaves and Getafe earlier on. With the Andalusians having emerged victorious in their 5-0 thrashing of Levante yesterday, Santiago Solari’s men will see this as another must-win game as they seek to overtake their closest challengers once more and return back to third spot.
ESPANYOL XI (4-4-2): Diego Lopez; Javi Lopez (c), Lluis Lopez, Mario Hermoso, Didac Vila; Leo Baptistao, Marc Roca, Sergi Darder, Alex Lopez; Sergio Garcia, Borja Iglesias.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
SUBSTITUTES: Roberto Jimenez, Roberto Rosales, Esteban Granero, Oscar Melendo, Pablo Piatti, Victor Sanchez, Víctor Campuzano.
REAL MADRID XI (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Daniel Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos (c), Sergio Reguilon; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Lucas Vazquez, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
The faces on the Espanyol players as they head towards the changing rooms for the interval tells the story, as Benzema’s second of the game proved to be a bitter suckerpunch after growing into the game following the lively Baptistao’s goal. Other than conceding three goals in 45 minutes, their display has been effervescent, and they have troubled the Real Madrid backline on more than one occasion. Another goal for Rubi’s men, and it will be game on at the RCDE Stadium.
Just when you think Espanyol may grab a deserved equaliser before half-time, up steps Benzema to deliver a hammer blow to the home side with a second goal. While Madrid have improved greatly under Solari, the 3-1 scoreline has been flattering compared to their first-half display, which saw a fast start only for them to allow Espanyol to find a way back into this match. With the result far from doubt, Los Blancos must improve on their performance before the interval to ease their fans’ nerves.
Next up for both sides is some midweek second-leg Copa del Rey quarter-final action, as Espanyol travel to Real Betis with the latter having the advantage via an away goal in a 1-1 draw while Madrid look to finish the job at Girona with a 4-2 first-leg lead in tow. They both return to LaLiga duties next Sunday, with Rubi’s men on the road once more to Villarreal while Solari’s charges host Alaves at the Bernabeu.
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