Real Madrid’s hopes of closing the gap on Barcelona at the top of La Liga were dealt a blow on Wednesday as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Athletic Club at a raucous San Mames stadium.
Kylian Mbappe, the French superstar who joined Madrid in the summer, had a night to forget, missing his second penalty in as many games. Mbappe’s spot-kick was saved by reserve goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala, who parried the ball away to safety.
Despite Mbappe miss, Madrid were able to level the scores through Jude Bellingham, who scored his fourth goal in as many Liga games. However, their joy was short-lived as Athletic responded immediately, with Gorka Guruzeta taking advantage of a Federico Valverde error to score the winning goal.
The defeat was a disappointing one for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who had been hoping to close the gap on Barcelona at the top of the table. Instead, they now find themselves facing an uphill battle to catch up with their rivals.
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