Real Madrid were stunned by La Liga‘s bottom side Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, losing to an Adrian Embarba penalty in their first defeat to their Madrid neighbours in 22 years.
It was the latest humiliation in a season full of them, as Madrid produced an abject display against a side that had lost 5-0 to Sevilla in midweek.
Here’s a look at the talking points as Zinedine Zidane ponders the ramifications of another shocking result.
It’s hard to believe Luka Modric was voted the best player in the world less than a year ago. He looks a shadow of that player at the moment, and has done for the better part of this season. Modric gave the ball away seven times within the first half an hour, and never got better.
Either the fatigue of a season that saw him help Madrid win the Champions League and then a summer where he spearheaded Croatia’s unlikely run to the World Cup final, coupled with a short preseason, has led to Modric never finding his rhythm this season, or this is one of the more stunning declines in recent memory.
Modric isn’t the only culprit – Toni Kroos looks some ways short of his best, as do Raphael Varane and Gareth Bale. Zidane has to decide if some key players simply need rejuvenation, or to be moved on.
Even after Sunday’s result Rayo are almost certainly heading down – they’re six points from safety with just three games to play. But though that’s a grim reality, on Sunday they’ll be singing and dancing in the streets of Vallecas for quite a while. This may not be a vintage Real Madrid but it’s not often that Rayo beat their storied neighbours.
And it’s not just that they won. They were genuinely the better side. Paco Jemez’s side had more shots and shots on target, and went nearly toe-to-toe with Madrid on possession – it ended 50.5% to 49.5% in Los Blancos’ favour.
There is glory in the classic backs-to-the-wall job as well, but Rayo outplayed the team that has won the last three Champions League titles.
If one of Madrid’s so-called lesser clubs are indeed going down, they’re heading there after one of the most famous nights in the club’s history.
What did Zidane learn about Mariano Diaz on Sunday?
Making his first start under the Frenchman, the successor to Cristiano Ronaldo’s No7 shirt put in a spirited display as lead striker Karim Benzema was given a rest.
There was plenty of passion and commitment, and a few moments of quality – the lobbed finish he produced in the first half was brilliant, though delivered from a clearly offside position and thus rightly chalked off. He also should have had an assist, teeing up an unmarked Bale in the box only for the Welshman to squander the opportunity.
But that was about it. The striker showed plenty of heart, but nothing to convince Zidane that he deserves a run in the side ahead of a summer in which a striker will be prioritised in the transfer window.
Mariano is, remember, the only striker Madrid bought last summer after losing Ronaldo to Juventus. It was meant to be a feted return for a talented player who had left Los Blancos for Lyon, starred, and was deemed ready for the step up. At the moment that judgment looks flawed.