Valencia (Spain) (AFP)

Real Madrid coach, 1-0 defeated at Levante on Saturday for the 25th day of La Liga and again second behind Barça, must stop his troops before the decisive Champions League first leg against City, Wednesday.

The worst preparation: surprised by a superb volley by Levante captain Jose Luis Morales (79th), the Merengues conceded their second defeat of the season at Valencia, the first in La Liga since the 1-0 conceded on October 19 last in Mallorca ... and approach their most decisive week in the worst way.

They returned to second in La Liga, two points behind FC Barcelona, ​​and may have lost their Belgian striker Eden Hazard, limping out of the right ankle in the 64th minute and replaced by Vinicius ...

All this four days before the reception of Manchester City, 1-0 winner at Leicester on Saturday in the English league, for their first knockout round of the Champions League (Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. GMT), and one week from the classic return from Liga against FC Barcelona - large winner of Eibar this Saturday in Liga (5-0) thanks to a quadruple of Messi - Sunday March 1st (20h00 GMT) at the Santiago-Bernabeu.

- Falling beliefs -

Specialist in rescue operations, Zinedine Zidane is therefore still called to the rescue to extinguish the start of fire at the "White House", after this unexpected setback at Levante ... the second row match without a win, after 2-2 against the 17th, Celta Vigo, last Sunday at Santiago-Bernabeu.

And it is all of Real's convictions that collapse with this defeat: "Zizou", who has built all his successes on an impassable defense, sees the curtain of the "White House", still the best of Liga there is little by little, falling apart, with seven goals conceded in the last four games.

Already last week, Real's defense was showing signs of fatigue, but the penalty scored by captain Sergio Ramos had softened the lackluster performance of Raphael Varane at his side.

But on Saturday evening, even more than during the last home game, the Madrid defense asked questions, especially about the action of the goal, with a questionable placement.

Questions in shambles, to which Zinedine Zidane will have to quickly provide answers, under penalty of seeing the fire grow ... and pending the final diagnosis of the possible relapse of the injury to Hazard's ankle.

- Barça, just the opposite -

The exact opposite of Real, the eternal Barcelona rival has successfully managed his weekend: after four matches and 388 minutes without scoring, and a hectic week with the extra-sport scandal that rocked the club, the six-time Ballon d ' Lionel Messi has revived FC Barcelona with a quadruple (14th, 37th, 40th, 87th), his 5th in La Liga, achieved almost exclusively on individual exploits.

"He has been doing this for 14 or 15 years, and he will continue to do it (...) He is always there. If it is not with goals, it is with assists. that's why he is the best player in the world, because he solves situations that others cannot solve, "praised his coach Quique Setién after the match.

"You make us suffer, you stand up to us. But we can do nothing but get up and applaud you," even greeted the Basque club Eibar on Twitter.

The race at the head of Liga is therefore likely to continue for a long time, well after the clasico of next Sunday, which should already give a trend.

Results of the 25th day of the Spanish Football Championship:

Friday

Betis Seville - Mallorca 3 - 3

Saturday

Celta Vigo - Leganés 1 - 0

Barcelona - Eibar 5 - 0

Real Sociedad - Valence CF 3 - 0

Levante - Real Madrid 1 - 0

Sunday

(11:00 GMT) Osasuna - Granada

(1:00 p.m. GMT) Alavés - Athletic Bilbao

(15:00 GMT) Valladolid - Espanyol Barcelona

(5.30 p.m. GMT) Getafe - Seville

(8:00 p.m. GMT) Atlético Madrid - Villarreal

© 2020 AFP