Without Casemiro on the pitch, Real Madrid struggled in defence and although they were superior in the start and opened the scoring through Karim Benzema, they conceded three penalties which were converted by Carlos Soler and scored an own goal through Raphael Varane to lose 4-1 to Valencia.

In a game that was played behind closed doors, Real Madrid started off better, dictated the tempo of the game and managed to take the lead midway through the first part through Benzema.

Valencia tried to react immediately after conceding and took full advantage of two Real Madrid mistakes in defence to turn the game around before the break. Casemiro’s absence was evident and without him in the midfield, Real Madrid’s defence struggled a lot throughout the game.

Lucas handled the ball with Soler converting from the spot and Valencia completed the comeback when Raphael Varane scored an own goal just before the interval.

With their confidence boosted, Valencia hit the ground running in the second part, with Kang-in Lee hitting the post just after the break.

Marcelo and Sergio Ramos conceded one penalty each in a matter of 10 minutes. Soler stepped up and netted both to make it 4-1 for the hosts and complete a hat-trick of penalties.

All Real Madrid subs were attacking-minded as they tried to get something out of the game, but the team looked shocked after conceding the fourth and they squandered a couple of clear chances to grab a second.

Real Madrid were awful in defence. They conceded three penalties and scored an own goal after taking the lead while Valencia played smartly, took advantage of their rivals' errors, didn’t miss from the spot and grabbed a huge home victory.