Manager Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid were “still on holiday” as they suffered their first defeat in three months in a shock 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Getafe on Sunday.
Striker Enes Unal scored in the ninth minute after he stole the ball from Madrid defender Eder Militao and beat Thibaut Courtois. Luka Modric’s strike that hit the crossbar in the 17th was the closest Madrid came to an equaliser. Eden Hazard and Marcelo came on as half-time substitutions but could not spark a comeback.
Real's last defeat came on October 3 when they fell 2-1 at Espanyol. Since then, they had won 13 and drawn two across all competitions.
La Liga leaders Madrid's surprise defeat gave fresh hope to the chasing pack. With 46 points from 20 games, Real Madrid are still top but are not as comfortable as before. Sevilla are second with 38 points and two games in hand, and will visit second-from-bottom Cadiz on Monday.
“We were on holiday for an extra day,” Ancelotti said after the match. “The team was not the same team that played before Christmas — less commitment, less concentration.
“We didn't deserve to lose but we ended up with a defeat that could be a wake-up call.”
“To say we were still on holiday isn't a criticism, it's the same thing that I've said to the players,” Ancelotti added. “We accept responsibility, because the coach was maybe still on holiday as well. We are still top, so we look forward.”
Getafe, led by former Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores, extended their unbeaten streak in La Liga to six matches and are 16th in the standings, three points above the relegation zone.
The modest club from a neighbourhood of Madrid started the season losing their first seven matches. But they have turned things around in the league after Sanchez Flores took over in early October.
“Sometimes as a striker, you just sense that there can be something there. Luckily it worked out,” Unal said about his goal.
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Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
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116 pitches
76 nations
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15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Match info:
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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
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Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
