Real Madrid suffered their fourth loss in five games and set an unwanted record with a defeat by Levante at the Bernabeu. The result put further pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui, whose side remain fifth in La Liga, three points behind leaders Alaves and a point behind Barcelona, who have yet to play. Lopetegui’s side were stung twice inside 13 minutes when first Jose Luis Morales and then Roger Marti, from the spot, scored. Real produced several great chances, with the woodwork and great saves from Oier Olazabal coming to the rescue for the visitors. The final line of defence was finally breached in the 72nd minute when Marcelo fired a rocket past the Levante stopper - that ended a run of 482 minutes of scoring, although it came 17 minutes too late to prevent them from breaking the mark set back in 1985. Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno backed coach Lopetegui in the lead-up to the match, but with an important game in the Champions League coming up and El Clasico next weekend, there could be renewed pressure for the Los Blancos chiefs to act. Mid-table Levante seemed the perfect opponent to face, but with a front-line led by the precocious Jose Luis Morales, the visitors had no intention of playing for a point. Agencies
