Real Madrid continued to struggle as they crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Villarreal, which saw them fall five points behind the La Liga leading pair of Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
Roberto Soldado scored the decisive goal for Villarreal in the eighth minute before the hosts fended off Real's surge after the break, the Guardian reported.
The defeat has piled on more misery for Rafa Benitez, who has been under-fire after suffering a 4-0 loss to arch-rivals Barcelona and disqualification from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.
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