Carlo Ancelotti reflected on a 2-1 defeat to Espanyol as Real Madrid's worst performance since he returned to the club.
A miserable week for Los Blancos took another turn for the worse when they missed the chance to restore a three-point lead at the top of LaLiga at RCDE Stadium on Sunday.
Sensationally beaten 2-1 by Moldovan side Sheriff in the Champions League in midweek, Madrid went down by the same scoreline following goals from Raul de Tomas and Aleix Vidal.
Karim Benzema pulled one back, but Ancelotti pulled no punches with his verdict after watching his side slip up before the international break.
The Italian said: "It was our worst game [of the season]. We played badly, there is not much more to say. We have to change our attitude this week.
"The defeat is not an accident because we deserved to lose. We are worried because two defeats in a row at this club is not customary and we must remedy this, correcting the errors."
Ancelotti says Madrid must reflect on their shortcomings during the international break.
He added: "We have started with an idea and the idea has changed with the first goal conceded. We were not able to keep calm and the idea and the team has been poorly positioned with the ball and without it.
"The approach was quite clear, I am not going to explain it now. The team has been very messy, with and without the ball. We have to fix it, I have discussed it with the players and they agree.
"Now comes the break. Sometimes it is better to play again immediately, but you have to use the break to reflect."
Bayern Munich's unbeaten start to Julian Nagelsmann's tenure came to an end on Sunday with a shock 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Bavarian giants had won nine in a row since an opening-game draw and looked set for another routine victory at Allianz Arena when Leon Goretzka deservedly put them in front.
But Martin Hinteregger equalised for Frankfurt before the interval and Kevin Trapp made a number of saves to put the visitors on course for a fifth successive 1-1 league draw.
Not content with only a point, Filip Kostic rifled in a winner seven minutes from time to inflict a first home Bundesliga loss on stunned champions Bayern since November 2019.
Real Madrid suffered a dismal end to a humiliating week as they were stunned 2-1 by Espanyol, missing out on the chance to restore a three-point lead at the top of LaLiga.
Madrid were the victims of one of the greatest shocks in Champions League history in midweek as they were incredibly beaten 2-1 by Moldovan debutants Sheriff at the Santiago Bernabeu.
And they now only lead LaLiga on goal difference after a limp performance at RCDE Stadium, where Espanyol took a 2-0 lead through goals from Raul de Tomas and Aleix Vidal.
Karim Benzema was in inspired form, and he gave Madrid hope in the 71st minute, yet the visitors were again left to reflect on a humbling despite their star forward's best efforts.
Save for a couple of tame shots from Benzema, Madrid struggled to create chances early on despite dominating possession, and they were punished against the run of play as De Tomas stole in at the near post to turn home Adrian Embarba's low right-wing cross.
Espanyol continued in the ascendancy without adding to their lead in the first half and were fortunate not to be pegged back four minutes into the second as Eder Militao's header drifted wide.
But Madrid's attacking threat remained largely conspicuous by its absence and Espanyol doubled their advantage when former Barcelona man Vidal was allowed to surge into open space from midfield, skip past Nacho and side-foot beyond Thibaut Courtois.
The hosts should have made it 3-0 as Madrid were caught cold on the counter, only for Sergi Darder to make a horrible mess of his finish with only Courtois to beat.
Benzema was then rightly denied by the offside flag but, after Darder stung Courtois' palms at the other end, the France international gave Madrid a chance with a superb individual effort, evading several challenges on the edge of the box before bending a pinpoint strike inside the right-hand post.
And Benzema looked to have teed Eden Hazard up for a spectacular leveller, but the offside flag was again correctly raised as Espanyol held on to deal Madrid an early blow in the title race.
Jannik Sinner eased to another Sofia Open title with a 6-3 6-4 final win over Gael Monfils in a battle of the top two seeds.
Sinner's first ATP Tour final had come at this event in 2020, where he opened his account by beating Vasek Pospisil in three sets – a sterner test than he was given by Monfils.
The Italian had since tasted victory twice more, while Monfils' previous final had been in February 2020, although his success this week extended a run of seasons with final appearances to 17 in a row.
The most recent three of the Frenchman's prior 31 had ended in glory, but he was no match for defending champion Sinner.
The 20-year-old had already passed up a break point before consecutive superb forehand winners brought the breakthrough, the second clipping the net on its way through.
A marathon rally saved the second of two break points Sinner faced in the seventh game, yet that was as close as he came to being stopped.
After Sinner served out the opener, Monfils paid the price for losing his focus at the start of the second, adamant he had landed the first point of the set inside the line as a narrow call went against him.
Monfils' wild backhand then went long to give Sinner the lead in the second, one he never relinquished as he coasted through to serve out the match to love.
"I'm happy to be one more time the winner here in Sofia," Sinner said. "I think it's a very, very nice tournament.
"For sure it was the best match [he played in the tournament], because I had to. It's never easy to play against him. We've had very tough matches, I think everyone knows that.
"Today, in the [key] moments, I was a little bit luckier than him, so that helped a lot."
Torquator Tasso pulled off one of the greatest horse racing shocks by winning the 100th edition of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday.
The German underdog stormed up the outside for a stunning victory in Europe's richest race at odds of 80-1.
Torquator Tasso handled the heavy ground brilliantly under Rene Piechulek, giving trainer Marcel Weiss a sensational success with his first Arc runner to land prize money of €2.9million (£2.5m).
Tarnawa was second ahead of 3-1 favourite Hurricane Lane, with Adayar finishing fourth.
The four-year-old Torquator Tasso became the third German winner of one of the most prestigious races in the world after Star Appeal (1975) and Danedream (2011).
"That was beautiful. He's a very nice horse, he's all heart," said an elated Weiss.
Weiss added: "He's a very strong horse and Rene is a very cool jockey."
Torquator Tasso was bought for only €24,000 in what must go down as one of the most shrewd racing investments in history.
Mauricio Pochettino was left "frustrated and disappointed" after Paris Saint-Germain failed to register a shot on target in Sunday's shock 2-0 loss to Rennes.
The Ligue 1 leaders' eight-game winning streak to begin their league campaign came to an end at Roazhon Park as goals from Gaetan Laborde and Flavien Tait proved decisive.
PSG registered 13 shots but failed to test opposition goalkeeper Alfred Gomis from any of those, with Kylian Mbappe having a second-half strike ruled out by VAR for offside.
Mbappe had earlier scuffed a shot over the crossbar with only Gomis to beat, while Neymar was way off target with a volleyed attempt six yards out with the scores still level.
Pochettino also started with fellow superstar forward Lionel Messi, who had a game-high five shots, the most notable of which saw him hit the crossbar from a free-kick.
Angel Di Maria was brought into the side in place of Ander Herrera from Tuesday's 2-0 win over Manchester City, but Pochettino has no regrets over his attack-minded selection.
"I don't think we can look at our system. We played 25 of our best minutes of the season [in the first half]," Pochettino said at his post-match news conference.
"We didn't start the game well, but we then had 25 or 30 minutes of good quality football. It was a shame not to capitalise.
"We then had two psychological blows, conceding just before and just after half-time. The match was then open. We created chances but had a hard time.
"Rennes grew in confidence and we started to become frustrated."
The defeat was Messi's first since joining PSG from Barcelona in August, the Argentina international still without a goal in three Ligue 1 matches.
Mbappe, meanwhile, has now had 17 shots since last finding the net in Ligue 1.
While Messi, Mbappe and Di Maria played the full 90 minutes, Neymar was withdrawn 14 minutes from time after managing just that one wayward attempt in the first half.
Rather than point the finger at individuals, however, Pochettino accepted the blame for his side's first league loss since early April, a run of 15 matches.
"When we won against Man City, it was down to a collective effort," he said. "The first person in charge is me. What we did for 25 minutes was of very high quality.
"We must extend that to 90 minutes. I am satisfied with one sector – we created a lot of situations and opportunities."
PSG's 13 attempts without registering a shot on target is their highest in a Ligue 1 match since Opta started collecting such data in 2006-07.
Rather than put the rare setback down to fatigue on the back of a tough European match with Man City five days ago, Pochettino accepts a lack of cutting edge was to blame.
Asked if he was feeling angry, Pochettino said: "Yes, a bit. Nobody likes to lose games. We can't underestimate what Rennes did, but we are frustrated and disappointed.
"We had chances to score and then conceded a couple of goals. Situations like this leave us bitter and disappointed.
"But it's not to do with playing in midweek. We've had five days since then. I repeat, we played 30 minutes of good football today.
"We had control of the game and conceded when on top. We were immediately 2-0 down in the second half and then it's a different game."
Royal Challengers Bangalore sealed an Indian Premier League play-off spot thanks to a six-run win over Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Glenn Maxwell smashed 57 from just 33 deliveries as Royal Challengers made 164-7 after opting to bat first, the highest total posted at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium since the 2021 season resumed.
Punjab Kings had won each of the three previous games against their opponents staged in the United Arab Emirates, and they looked well set to extend that streak when opening duo KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal impressed again, putting on a 91-run stand.
However, the innings lost momentum after Rahul departed for 39, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3-29) turning the tide in his side's favour.
Agarwal would end up top-scoring with 57, but the Kings came up short in the final reckoning, ending on 158-6 as Bangalore's bowlers held their nerve in the closing stages.
While Punjab missed the chance to move into the play-off positions, Bangalore are certain to finish the round-robin stage in the top four after ending a three-match losing run at the venue.
Taking it to the Max
While Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal made 25 and 40 respectively at the top of the Bangalore order, both struggled to force the pace before being dismissed by Moises Henriques, who finished with 3-12. However, Maxwell had no such problems, smashing four sixes in a knock that was eventually ended when he became one of three wickets for Mohammed Shami (3-39) in an eventful final over.
Rahul on top, Kings in trouble
Rahul is back on top of the IPL's run-scoring list for the campaign; he has now managed 528 in 12 innings at an outstanding average of 52.80. His dismissal to Shahbaz Ahmed changed the complexion of proceedings, though, as his team fell away down the stretch to suffer a painful defeat.
Paris Saint-Germain's winning start to the Ligue 1 campaign came to an end with a shock 2-0 loss to Rennes on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side had won eight out of eight in the league prior to their trip to Roazhon Park and were 15 without defeat in the competition since early April.
But the visitors were made to pay for poor misses from Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as Gaetan Laborde and Flavien Tait struck for Rennes either side of half-time.
Mbappe had a goal chalked off for offside and Lionel Messi went close from a free-kick, having earlier struck the crossbar from one, but PSG could not find a response in a rare setback for Pochettino.
Travel problems forced PSG's players to make their way to Rennes via road late on Saturday and that appeared to show as they made a sluggish start to the contest.
Rennes failed to truly test Gianluigi Donnarumma during their spell on top, though, and PSG soon got on the front foot as big chances fell the way of Neymar and Mbappe.
But Neymar sliced a volley over from six yards when unmarked and Mbappe scuffed a shot off target with only Alfred Gomis to beat less than two minutes later.
Messi then hit the crossbar from a free-kick and those near misses proved costly when Kamaldeen Sulemana's cross was turned in by Laborde, though Nuno Mendes may have got the final touch.
The home side's second arrived just 18 seconds after half-time as Laborde pulled the ball back for Tait to tuck past Donnarumma when left in plenty of space.
That goal was allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR check and PSG were undone by the technology 21 minutes from time when Mbappe's fine finish was ruled out for offside.
VAR was also required late on to overturn a penalty awarded for an Achraf Hakimi challenge on Laborde, though Rennes comfortably saw out the remainder of the contest.
Paris Saint-Germain's winning start to the Ligue 1 campaign came to an end with a shock 2-0 loss to Rennes on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side had won eight out of eight in the league prior to their trip to Roazhon Park and were 15 without defeat in the competition since early April.
But the visitors were made to pay for poor misses from Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as Gaetan Laborde and Flavien Tait struck for Rennes either side of half-time.
Mbappe had a goal chalked off for offside and Lionel Messi went close from a free-kick, having earlier struck the crossbar from one, but PSG could not find a response in a rare setback for Pochettino.
Travel problems forced PSG's players to make their way to Rennes via road late on Saturday and that appeared to show as they made a sluggish start to the contest.
Rennes failed to truly test Gianluigi Donnarumma during their spell on top, though, and PSG soon got on the front foot as big chances fell the way of Neymar and Mbappe.
But Neymar sliced a volley over from six yards when unmarked and Mbappe scuffed a shot off target with only Alfred Gomis to beat less than two minutes later.
Messi then hit the crossbar from a free-kick and those near misses proved costly when Kamaldeen Sulemana's cross was turned in by Laborde, though Nuno Mendes may have got the final touch.
The home side's second arrived just 18 seconds after half-time as Laborde pulled the ball back for Tait to tuck past Donnarumma when left in plenty of space.
That goal was allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR check and PSG were undone by the technology 21 minutes from time when Mbappe's fine finish was ruled out for offside.
VAR was also required late on to overturn a penalty awarded for an Achraf Hakimi challenge on Laborde, though Rennes comfortably saw out the remainder of the contest.
Bryan Gil has replaced Marcos Llorente in Spain's squad for the Nations League semi-final against Italy.
Atletico Madrid announced on Sunday that midfielder Llorente suffered a right thigh injury in their 2-0 LaLiga win over Barcelona on Saturday.
It is not clear how long he will be sidelined for but Llorente will play no part as Spain aim to get some small measure of revenge over European champions Italy, who beat them on penalties in the semi-finals of Euro 2020.
Instead, Tottenham winger Bryan will potentially get the chance to feature at San Siro on Wednesday.
Bryan has already won six caps for Spain during his international career and comes into Luis Enrique's squad despite a low-key start to his Spurs career.
Since joining Tottenham from Sevilla in July, Bryan has made only eight appearances in all competitions.
Three of those have come in the Premier League and four in the Europa Conference League with the other in the EFL Cup.
Bryan has yet to find the net for Spurs and has two chances created to his name.
Aryna Sabalenka will not play at Indian Wells after announcing she has tested positive for coronavirus.
In an Instagram Story post, the world number two revealed she feels "okay" while isolating after her COVID-19 result, though is "really sad" not to be playing in the tournament this year.
Sabalenka had been due to return to action for the first time since losing at the semi-final stage of the US Open last month.
"Unfortunately, I've tested positive at Indian Wells and won’t be able to compete," the Belarusian posted on Sunday.
"I've started my isolation and I’ll be staying here until I’m cleared by the doctors and health officials. So far I'm feeling okay but really sad to not be able to play this year."
The absence of Sabalenka is a further blow for the event, considering world number one Ash Barty had already pulled out.
Naomi Osaka is another big-name absentee, along with Serena Williams, while the men's edition is minus Novak Djokovic after the five-time champion opted to withdraw.
Emma Raducanu will be involved, however, after the US Open champion accepted a wild card, while Kim Clijsters has done the same as she prepares to continue her comeback with a first appearance at Indian Wells in a decade.
Andy Murray is a wild-card entrant for the men's tournament, with the main draw beginning on Wednesday.
The American League (AL) Wild Card race is set for a chaotic conclusion after the New York Yankees failed to clinch as the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners all won in MLB action on Saturday.
In New York, the Yankees were prevented from securing their Wild Card berth following a 12-2 rout at the hands of AL East champions the Tampa Bay Rays.
Brandon Lowe hit three home runs to thwart the Yankees, who are now level with the Boston Red Sox atop the AL Wild Card standings heading into Sunday's regular-season finale.
The Red Sox topped the Washington Nationals 5-3, while the Blue Jays and Mariners – who have celebrated 90-plus wins for the first time since 2003 – are a game adrift following respective wins over the Baltimore Orioles (10-1) and Los Angeles Angels (6-4).
There is a chance for a four-way tie if the Yankees (91-70) and Red Sox (91-70) both lose and the Blue Jays (90-71) and Mariners (90-71) win, which would leave the quartet with 91 victories apiece.
The 2021 AL East is the second division ever with four 90-plus win teams (the Rays, Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays) and first time since the split to three divisions per league.
Urias keeps Dodgers alive in NL West battle
Julio Urias became the first pitcher in his age-24 season or younger to win 20-plus games in a campaign since future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw in 2011 after leading World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-3 success against the Milwaukee Brewers. Urias pitched one-run ball into the seventh inning to help the Dodgers (105-56) remain in the hunt for a ninth successive National League (NL) West title after leaders the San Francisco Giants (106-55) lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres. The 2021 NL West is the first ever division to have two teams with 105 or more wins in a season.
Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease became the second set of Chicago White Sox team-mates to each record 200-plus strikeouts in a season, joining Tom Bradley (206) and Wilbur Wood (210) in 1971. The White Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 5-4.
Blackburn battered
Paul Blackburn was put to the sword as the Houston Astros secured home-field advantage in the AL Division Series (ALDS) with a 10-4 win at home to the Oakland Athletics. A's pitcher Blackburn was tagged for a season-high six runs on seven hits in just two innings.
Blue Jays set franchise record
With their 258th home run, the Blue Jays set a new single-season franchise record for homers in the win over the lowly Orioles. Danny Jansen's bomb in the bottom of the fifth inning broke the team's record. Blue Jays star and MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also equalled the record for most home runs in a season by a player aged 22 or younger, joining Eddie Matthews (1953), with his 47th homer. Seven Blue Jays players have 20-plus home runs this season, tying a team record.
Saturday's results
Tampa Bay Rays 12-2 New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox 5-3 Washington Nationals
San Diego Padres 3-2 San Francisco Giants
Miami Marlins 3-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 Cincinnati Reds
Texas Rangers 7-2 Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox 5-4 Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins 4-0 Kansas City Royals
Houston Astros 10-4 Oakland Athletics
Chicago Cubs 6-5 St Louis Cardinals
Atlanta Braves 6-5 New York Mets
Arizona Diamondbacks 11-2 Colorado Rockies
Seattle Mariners 6-4 Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 Milwaukee Brewers
NL West title in balance
The NL West champion will be crowned on Sunday as the Dodgers host the Brewers on the final day of the regular season, while the Giants entertain the Padres. The Dodgers must win and hope the Giants lose to tie for the title and force a deciding Game 163 in San Francisco on Monday.
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti ruled out the possibility of ever taking charge of LaLiga rivals Barcelona.
Ronald Koeman is under pressure at embattled giants Barca and Madrid great Guti said he would be open to coaching at Camp Nou.
Guti emerged from the youth system of boyhood club Madrid in 1995, going on to captain Los Blancos and win five LaLiga titles and three Champions League crowns among other honours before leaving in 2010.
The 44-year-old former Spain international midfielder returned to coach Madrid's youth team between 2013 and 2018.
But Ancelotti – in his second spell in the Spanish capital – has no plans to coach Barca, despite Guti's revelation.
"With all due respect to a great club like Barcelona, I can't," Ancelotti told reporters ahead of league-leading Madrid's trip to Espanyol on Sunday.
"I can't go against my history; my history says that I have coached Real Madrid, I am the Real Madrid coach.
"I can't go against this. With all due respect for a great club."
Madrid have won 20 of their last 23 games against Espanyol in LaLiga (D2 L1), scoring 61 goals during this time (2.6 per match) and keeping a clean sheet in 17 of them (eight goals conceded overall).
Los Blancos have beaten Espanyol in nine of their 11 visits to the RCDE Stadium in LaLiga (D1 L1) – more than any other visiting side at the ground in the competition.
Madrid have not lost any of their last 18 away matches in LaLiga (W12 D6), and should they avoid defeat to Espanyol, the club will record their longest unbeaten run away from home in the competition's history (19).
Ancelotti has not lost any of his last 17 matches in LaLiga (W14 D3), and could equal his best run as Madrid coach in the competition (18 between October 2013 and March 2014 - W15 D3).
Borussia Dortmund head coach Marco Rose asked to ease the pressure on Erling Haaland and let him recover from a thigh injury amid question marks over his availability for Norway ahead of their World Cup qualifiers.
Haaland was absent again as Dortmund defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the Bundesliga thanks to goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Julian Brandt on Saturday.
Dortmund sensation Haaland also missed last weekend's defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach and the Champions League victory over Sporting CP on Tuesday.
As Norway prepare for qualifiers against Turkey (October 8) and Montenegro (October 11) on the road to Qatar 2022, Rose stressed that both the national team and Dortmund need the 21-year-old forward back.
"It is not my job to finish someone's hope," Rose said following the victory over Augsburg. "All I can tell you about is the status quo. Erling has been trying to play for days now. Who knows him also knows that he always wants to play.
"He didn't make it for the Champions League. It started in Gladbach and didn't work today. And he told me very timely 'Manager, I would love to play, but I can't move the way I want to. I can't even walk'.
"This is the status quo we are working with, and I think it would be clever if we could all stop speculating. I understand the Norwegian federation. He is a human being, not a machine. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We have to get him healthy for Borussia Dortmund but also for the Norway national team.
"We had two games without him now and at the moment, things don't look good for Norway either. This is also what Erling says, and we should release the pressure and not ask about his status every day. We should let him recover."
Haaland has scored 68 goals in 67 appearances for Dortmund since arriving from Salzburg in January 2020.
The in-demand Dortmund star opened the season by scoring 11 goals across seven games in all competitions.
Without Haaland, Dortmund recorded their eighth straight Bundesliga home triumph as Marco Reus teed up Brandt for the 51st-minute winner.
Dortmund captain Reus is the third Bundesliga player since detailed data collection to assist 100 goals in competitive matches after Thomas Muller (176) and Franck Ribery (132).
Dortmund are second in the Bundesliga, a point behind rivals Bayern Munich, who are due to host Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
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