Spanish La Liga: Athletic Club defeats Real Madrid

BBC Sport, December 5 — Jude Bellingham's fourth goal in four games was not enough to prevent Real Madrid falling to their second La Liga loss in an enthralling encounter at Athletic Club.

The England midfielder put Carlo Ancelotti's side on level terms in the 78th minute after he reacted first to a poor save from Julen Agirrezabala.

However, Athletic Club surged upfield and an uncharacteristic mistake from Federico Valverde sent Gorka Guruzeta through on goal and he coolly slotted past Thibaut Courtois.

Before Bellingham's equaliser, Kylian Mbappe was given the chance to level from the spot after Agirrezabala fouled Antonio Rudiger but the Frenchman's penalty was well saved - as happened in last week's loss at Liverpool in the Champions League.

"He is not at his best level, but you have to give him time to adapt. He has scored 10 goals and is working to do better," said Ancelotti after Wednesday's defeat.

"I haven't spoken to him. It was a complicated match - even, competitive. When we equalised we could think of having control and small details penalised us tonight.

"We missed the penalty. I don't have to evaluate a player's game because of a penalty that is sometimes scored and sometimes missed. Obviously he is disappointed but we have to continue."

It was a tough moment for Mbappe to endure at Anfield where his side fell to a 2-0 defeat, but a goal on Sunday was the Frenchman's eighth in the league and provided a platform to build from after a shaky start to life in Spain.

However, his display at the San Mames showed there is still plenty of work for Real's coaching staff to do if they are to fully integrate Mbappe into the European champions' way of working.

Despite the absence of Vinicius Junior on the left, Mbappe started in his unfavoured central role and often found himself drifting wide - leaving huge gaps in Real's attacking play.

There have been glimpses of Mbappe in full flow but they have been few and far between since his summer move from Paris St-Germain.

The hosts had taken the lead eight minutes into the second half through a tidy Alex Berenguer finish from a sumptuous cross by Nico Williams.

Real pushed hard in the final minutes for an equaliser with Mbappe coming close, but Ernesto Valverde's side held on to send San Mames Stadium wild.

Their second defeat of the La Liga season means Ancelotti's team remain four points adrift of leaders Barcelona with a game in hand.

Athletic Club's first league win over Real since March 2015 moves them three points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid.