It was a Real Madrid performance that manager Zinedine Zidane admitted was “difficult to explain” as his side slumped to a 4-1 defeat by Valencia on Sunday.
In a chaotic contest at the Mestalla, Karim Benzema gave the visiting side the lead with a superb strike from the edge of the area, before Carlos Soler scored a hat-trick of penalties and Raphael Varane conceded a bizarre own goal to hand Valencia a convincing victory.
Soler is the first player to score a treble in La Liga from the penalty spot this century, according to Opta.
On each occasion, Thibaut Courtois dived the right way but failed to deny Soler, who saw his first effort saved by the Real goalkeeper before a VAR review allowed the Valencia midfielder to retake it.
“We played well for the first half hour but after the goal we crumbled and the dynamic of what we were doing changed,” Zidane said following Real’s second league defeat of the season.
“That was a turning point as after that everything went wrong for us: three penalties, an own goal … It’s a bit difficult to explain our performance today. We started well and after the equalizer everything changed.”
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Soon after Benzema’s opener midway through the first half, Valencia was awarded its first penalty following a Lucas Vazquez handball.
Soler’s attempt was saved by Courtois and his rebound hit the post before Yunus Musah turned in what looked to be an equalizer.
However, a VAR review judged that Musah and Vazquez had entered the penalty area too soon. Soler retook his spot-kick and made no mistake second time around.
Valencia took the lead when Varane chipped an attempted clearance over Courtois into his own net just before halftime as both defender and goalkeeper unsuccessfully scrambled to keep the ball out.
The misery continued for Real into the second period when Soler scored his second penalty after Maxi Gomez was fouled in the box by Marcelo. He completed his hat-trick after a Sergio Ramos handball.
“It’s not something that you experience every day. It’s something strange,” said Soler of his hat-trick.
“I’ve been taking the penalties this season and the responsibility fell to me. I was caught out on the first one, but thankfully we were able to retake it.
“My teammates showed me support after the miss, and Maxi (Gomez) told me that I was going to score the retake. (Denis) Cheryshev did as well. Everybody helped me, and the win is down to everyone.”
Valencia is now ninth in La Liga after a stuttering start to the season that included three consecutive defeats last month, while Real is fourth with a game in hand over leaders Real Sociedad and Villarreal.
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Fixture congestion
It’s been an unprecedented start to domestic seasons across Europe, with surprise leaders in some of the continent’s major leagues.
As well as Real Sociedad leading La Liga, Southampton topped the Premier League table for the first time ever after beating Newcastle 2-0 on Friday. And that was after having lost its first two games of the season, including a 5-2 hammering at home to Tottenham.
AC Milan leads the way in Italy ahead of Sassuolo, which has never finished higher than sixth in Serie A; defending champion Juventus is currently fifth.
It is, of course, early days. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp suggested that a crowded fixture schedule is putting too much pressure on certain teams, and that may go some way to explaining why some clubs are struggling more than expected.
He pointed to Tottenham having to play in Bulgaria on Thursday night before a midday kickoff away at West Brom on Sunday, as well as Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s calls for better scheduling.
United played a Champions League match in Turkey on Wednesday night and then faced Everton on Saturday at 12:30 pm local time.
“The only problem is we injure the players. We cannot keep the players fit with that. That’s really the problem,” said Klopp after his side’s draw with Manchester City, adding that broadcasters, alongside the Premier League and the FA, have to try and find a better solution.
“Sky, BT, Premier League, BBC, whoever – they have to talk. We cannot deal with that situation like we always did before. It’s very important the FA has to be involved.
“Tonight we lost Trent Alexander-Arnold and I’m pretty sure (England boss) Gareth Southgate is not fine (with that).”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also voiced concerns about the schedule and said he’d like to see the Premier League introduce a rule permitting five substitutions per game.
“I am surprised (about not introducing five subs). I don’t understand. But the show must go on. It’s about protecting players,” Guardiola said.
“The situation today is exceptional and all the leagues around the world see that, except here.
“LeBron James won the NBA title and then will go on holiday for two months, three months. These guys had two weeks.”
Neither the Premier League or the English Football Association immediately responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Domestic football is now put on pause as players join up with their international sides.
