Champions League holders Real Madrid fell to a 3-1 home defeat by AC Milan on Tuesday in the group stage, with striker Kylian Mbappe unable to find the net again.
The 25-year-old France captain has scored once in his last six matches for Madrid across all competitions, including three losses for Los Blancos.
Malick Thiaw headed the Italian side ahead before Vinicius Junior levelled from the penalty spot for the hosts.
Alvaro Morata struck against his former side to restore Milan’s lead before the break, and Tijjani Reijnders netted the third to secure Milan’s victory.
Madrid was unable to bounce back strongly from the 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona in late October, its last outing after Saturday’s La Liga match at Valencia was postponed because of devastating floods in the east of Spain.
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Players from both sides wore t-shirts before the match reading “We are all Valencia,” while in one stand, a giant Valencia regional flag was unfurled for a minute’s silence.
In the 90 minutes that followed, Paulo Fonseca’s Milan, seventh in Serie A, outclassed Madrid.
“We are going through a period when our opponents are punishing us a lot, and we have to keep working so that this doesn’t happen again,” Madrid defender Lucas Vazquez told Movistar.
Los Blancos have let in nine goals in their last three home matches.
“Obviously, that is a very bad number. I think that both defending and attacking is a collective thing. I think that’s where we have to put the emphasis,” said Vazquez.
“In the end, I think that we’ll get out of this together... (we have) to keep our heads up, to keep working, this is very long, and Madrid will fight until the end.”
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Champions League twice as a player and then twice as a coach with Milan, only made one change from the Clasico humiliation, bringing in Luka Modric for Eduardo Camavinga.
Madrid may have been keen to set things right in front of its fans at the Santiago Bernabeu but fell behind in the 12th minute.
Thiaw’s near-post header from a corner flew past the helpless Andriy Lunin to earn the Serie A side the lead.
Mike Maignan saved from Mbappe at the other end as Madrid hit back, with Vinicius winning a penalty as he fell under a clumsy tackle from Emerson Royal.
The Brazilian, who finished as runner-up in last week’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris when he had been favourite to win, coolly dispatched it with a cheeky dinked Panenka effort.
Milan regained the lead in the 39th minute through former Madrid striker Morata, who reacted quickly to fire home after Lunin saved from Rafael Leao.
‘11 lions’
Mbappe, yet to find top form in a Madrid shirt since his move from Paris Saint-Germain and particularly frustrated in the Barcelona defeat, broke in again before half-time, but Maignan saved his low effort.
Ancelotti took action at half-time, bringing on Camavinga and Brahim Diaz, and it opened up the second half for an end-to-end affair.
Lunin made a superb flying save from Leao’s header, and the Portuguese forward wasted a couple of opportunities on the break.
Leao made amends by teeing up Reijnders at the end of a superb solo run to turn home for Milan’s third after 73 minutes.
Antonio Rudiger smashed home for Madrid after a poor Maignan punch, but the goal was disallowed for a tight offside against the defender.
Maignan made a fine late save to deny Diaz, and it killed any Madrid hopes of a classic European comeback.
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Madrid has now lost two of its four matches and is in the middle of the table, provisionally 17th, one place above Milan.
Its next Champions League match is at Anfield against Liverpool, by when Ancelotti will hope to have solved some of his team’s growing problems.
Morata thought his team’s work-rate was crucial to their impressive victory in the Spanish capital.
“We had to be aware that they have a great team, very talented players, and that we all had to sacrifice, run and suffer together,” said Morata.
“More than for the club, for whom it was important, or for the fans, important too, it was important for us to know the value we have and that when we are 11 lions on the pitch, it is very difficult for a team to beat us.”
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