Real Madrid missed out on an opportunity to go close the gap at the top of the La Liga table on Sunday (November 8) as they were humbled by Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium. Heading into the game on 15th, relegation-threatened Los Che put on a clinic against the record champions as a Carlos Soler hat-trick of penalties and a Raphael Varane own goal meant Javi Gracia’s team ended their four-match winless run in the league in some style. Real Madrid Transfer News Update: Zinedine Zidane Wants Lautaro Martinez Instead of Erling Haaland.

Real Madrid were without Eden Hazard and Casemiro for this clash due to their positive coronavirus diagnoses, which meant Isco got a rare start in the team. Los Blancos started the game on the front foot as Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a brilliant strike, his fifth goal in the last four league meetings against Valencia.

However, it was the only piece of good news for Real Madrid as a Lucas Vasquez handball gave Valencia an opportunity to equalise, and before half-time, Raphael Varane's own goal compounded Real Madrid’s misery. Marcelo gave away the second penalty of the game with captain Sergio Ramos the third, which were easily converted by Carlos Soler to complete his hat-trick on the night.

Real Madrid continue their inconsistent start to the season as injuries and lack of depth in the squad has played a big role. Los Blancos didn’t strengthen their squad in the summer but with the current performances, they might be forced to look into the market to add some reinforcements.

This defeat meant Real Madrid slipped down to fourth in the table, four points behind surprise leaders Real Sociedad. However, Valencia would hope that the win could inspire them as after a sluggish start to the season, they have jumped to ninth on the points table, level on points with Barcelona.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 09, 2020 09:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).