Julen Lopetegui'sReal Madrid are wounded and the first thing you have to say about the coach is that he's had wretched luck.
Nobody is helping him, neither his players, nor VAR nor the boos from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
None of this will help to calm down the Madrid powers that be, who must now be thinking about drastic measures.
Lopetegui is hanging onto his job by a thread but Real Madrid didn't deserve to lose.
Raphael Varane had one of his worst games in the famous white shirt. He endured a miserable opening 15 minutes, making a mistake in Levante's first goal and also gifting the second goal with a handball in the box, leading to a penalty being awarded by VAR. Far from his best, the World Cup seems to have left him low on the energy and the focus that we're used to seeing.
Julen Lopetegui is unlucky. He has made history by recording the club's longest ever goal drought as well as going five consecutive games without a win. This could cost him his job in the coming days. Nobody did well. Varane messed up and once again the forwards weren't clinical enough. That said, Real Madrid did not deserve to lose to Levante. They hit the post three times and had a whole host of chances to score.
The Bernabeu faithful head home very angry with their team and booed them at the end of the match. The fans are now tired of their team's wretched run. They miss Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo and above all a team that puts them on the edge of their seat. Madrid didn't deserve to lose and the crowd know it. But they also know that this season keeps getting worse.
The star of the show was in a blue and scarlet shirt, not white. Jose Luis Morales, who had been compared to Gareth Bale in MARCA's preview, put in a masterclass in Madrid. He caused havoc for the Real defenders and beautifully punished Varane's mistake in the 7th minute, dribbling past Thibaut Courtois and putting the ball in the empty net. The highlights will show his goal and his skill to get past Sergio Ramos, but he was sensational throughout the 90 minutes.
Real Madrid's tribute to Agustin Herrerin was heart-warming. A man who was loved by many and who received the appreciation of Marcelo and Sergio Ramos before the match. Cristiano Ronaldo, from Turin, will have also been on his feet for this Real Madrid legend.