Zinedine Zidane has suffered his first loss on Wednesday since returning to Real Madrid as manager.
In a blow to their slim chances of catching eternal rivals Barcelona at the top, Los Blancos were defeated 2-1 by Valencia at the Mestalla.
Goncalo Guedes and Ezequiel Garay – a former Real player – scored the goals for Los Che, with Karim Benzema offering slim hope with a goal in the 93rd minute.
Real are now 13 points behind Barca and five below city rivals Atletico.
Los Blancos have lost nine games in La Liga this season, something which is simply not good enough for a club of their stature.
Valencia are now just one point of Getafe in the final Champions League spot.
The home side were a constant threat on the break throughout the 90 minutes, with Marcelo particularly exposed by their pace.
However, both goals came courtesy of set-pieces. Real failed to clear their lines for the opener, with Guedes then beating Keylor Navas at his near post.
Valencia then missed a number of golden opportunities after to seal the three points, but had to wait until the 82nd minute.
Dani Parejo’s corner was expertly met by Garay, sparking wild celebrations in the Mestalla.
Real then mimicked their opponents deep into stoppage-time, with Benzema heading home from a corner, but it was all in vein.
Marcelo also picked up his fifth yellow card of the season and will miss Real’s next game, which on the basis of tonight could be a good thing for Zidane…