Real Madrid’s poor form continued on Sunday, as they were defeated 2-1 by Espanyol in La Liga.

It was Madrid’s third match in a row without a victory, including a stunning home loss in the Champions League to Moldovan club Sheriff and a scoreless home draw against Villarreal in the Spanish league.

Raul De Tomas and Aleix Vidal scored goals in each half to secure the three points for Espanyol over Real. With nine points, the Catalans have climbed up to 12th place.

De Tomas opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th minute from close range after Ardi Embarba got in behind David Alaba down the visitors’ left and squared across goal.

As Real sought a way back into the game, Eder Militao headed wide on the stroke of halftime, but they found themselves two down on the hour when Vidal danced his way through the middle of the park.

Sergi Darder squandered a wonderful chance to make it three minutes from time, but Karim Benzema’s curled attempt halved the deficit. Real, on the other hand, were unable to equalise, with Eden Hazard’s late strike being called out for offside.

“We weren’t comfy. We conceded early and that makes the game tougher for you,” Real defender Nacho said.

“They got in behind us a lot, and we need to work on our defensive play and that will come with games.”

Madrid remain in first place in the league, with a greater goal difference than defending champions Atletico Madrid, which defeated Barcelona 2-0 at home on Saturday. Madrid and Atlético each have 17 points after eight games.