Real title bid in tatters after Osasuna defeat

Real Madrids title hopes were left hanging by a thread after Jose Mourinhos side suffered a shock 10 defeat at relegationthreatened Osasuna to fall seven points behind leaders Barcelona It was Mourinhos second league defeat in charge as Madridborn striker Javier Camunas scored the decisive goal on 62 minutes to seal an historic win for Osasuna and deal Reals title aspirations a hammer blow yesterday Even Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City could not inspire Real who have now dropped 12 points on the road and have an uphill task if they are to dethrone double champions Barcelona I cant fault the players as they did their job said Mourinho We didnt deserve to lose the three points but we lost against a team that gave everything and had the whole week to prepare for the match It is always difficult in Pamplona and I dont think many teams win here It is a match that you win by being solid defensively and scoring We had chances but didnt take them and it is three points lost and our second league defeat of the season Barcelona made it a recordequalling 15th consecutive league win with a 30 victory at Hercules on Saturday to match the longstanding record of Alfredo di Stefanos great 19601961 Real Madrid side Real were under pressure to respond and had a starstudded substitutes bench with Xabi Alonso Kaka and new signing Adebayor ready to be called into action Adebayor had to wait for his debut with French forward Karim Benzema retaining his place after scoring the winning goal in his last two matches Osasuna drew 00 with Real in the corresponding fixture last season and squandered the best chance of the first half on 32 minutes A ball from the left picked out Walter Pandiani but the Uruguayan glanced his header over Two minutes later Real had their first real sight on goal with Benzema fizzing in a low shot that goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez did well to save at his near post Lopez then denied Cristiano Ronaldo with his legs in the 43rd minute as the two sides went into the interval at 00 Ronaldo was Madrids most dangerous player in the second half firing one shot just wide and then seeing another drive blocked at the last minute However Osasuna were ambitious going forward and took the lead on 62 minutes after a mixup between Real defenders Raul Albiol and Ricardo Carvalho Camunas broke the offside trap and thumped his shot past Iker Casillas to delight the home fans Mourinho who was quoted as saying that he wanted to return to manage in England on Sunday responded with a triple substitution with Adebayor Kaka and Alonso all coming on Adebayor had a half chance with a header but it was Osasuna who should have made it 20 with Alvaro Arbeloa saving the visitors with an 84th minute block to prevent a certain goal Madrid lacked the imagination to open up a wellorganised Osasuna side managed by former Real Madrid legend Jose Antonio Camacho In other matches thirdplaced Villarreal closed to within six points of Real with a 10 win at Espanyol Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi who recently signed a contract extension until 2016 scored his 12th league goal of the season on 44 minutes to decide the match It was only Espanyols second league defeat at their CornellaEl Prat stadium and the Barcelonabased club stay three points behind fourthplaced Valencia who have a game in hand against Racing Santander on Monday Underfire Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores felt the pressure intensify as his side lost 20 at home to Athletic Bilbao Gaizka Toquero scored in each half on 45 and 64 minutes to down 10man Atletico who had Colombian defender Luis Perea sent off on 38 minutes for conceding a penalty and sixthplaced Bilbao move five points clear of Atletico in the table Flores who got the dreaded vote of confidence from the board this week is under extreme pressure with Atletico who are already out of the Europa League and Kings Cup lying 10 points off the top four