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Kylian Mbappe missed his second penalty in a week as LaLiga champions Real Madrid slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, their fourth loss in the last seven games in all competitions.
Athletic were the aggressors throughout the first half against a harried Real Madrid who were short of ideas when in possession and toothless up front, going to the break with no shots on target.
Unbeaten for almost two months, Athletic finally managed to break the deadlock to take the lead thanks to a close-range effort by Alex Berenguer in the 53rd minute but Mbappe had a great chance to level from the spot after defender Antonio Ruediger was fouled 15 minutes later.
However, the French forward, who missed a spot-kick in the Champions League loss at Liverpool last week, stroked another weak shot that made it easy for Julen Agirrezabala to palm the effort away.
Still missing talisman Vinicius Jr and other key players like Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga to injuries, Real equalised in the 78th minute when Jude Bellingham fired home a rebound but a bad mistake by Federico Valverde gifted the ball to Gorka Guruzeta who struck the winner past a helpless Thibaut Courtois one minute later.
Real missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Barcelona who top the standings on 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real who have a game in hand. Athletic Bilbao are fourth on 29 points.
It was another uninspired performance by Mbappe who has missed two of his five penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, making him the LaLiga player who has failed to convert most penalties this season.
Mbappe arrived with sky-high expectations to boost a stellar Real Madrid squad who won last season's LaLiga and Champions League titles, but so he has been a shadow of his old self, looking tentative and out of sync from the rest of the team.
He has scored 10 goals in Real's 21 games in all competitions, only seven from open play.
At Bilbao, he was a non factor until he fired an angled strike from the edge of the box late in the second half that Athletic goalkeeper Agirrezabala palmed straight to Bellingham who stroke home the rebound to equalise.
Rodrygo wasted a golden opportunity to get Real the lead in the next play but Valverde's error which handed substitute Guruzeta the winner raised more questions about Real's form with Mbappe firmly under the spotlight.
Leipzig end winless run
RB Leipzig's Lois Openda scored twice in an emphatic 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup round of 16 on Wednesday to snap their six-game winless run across all competitions.
Champions League club Leipzig, who had lost five of their last six matches including their last three, bounced back from Saturday's 5-1 home loss to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
The victory also offered much-needed relief for embattled coach Marco Rose whose team last won on Oct. 29.
The hosts, who entertain Aston Villa in the Champions League next week, took the lead with Benjamin Sesko's sublime run and finish in the box after good early work from Antonio Nusa in the 31st minute.
Nusa then delivered another assist with a perfectly timed cutback for Openda to tap in four minutes after the restart with Eintracht, in second place in the Bundesliga, unable to come back.
The 24-year-old Belgium international then fired in from 20 metres for his second goal of the evening just before the hour mark as the Cup winners of 2022 and 2023 advanced to the last eight.
Makeshift keeper Arnau stars as Girona knocked out
Last year's surprise package Girona were shocked by fourth-division side Logrones on Wednesday as they were knocked out 4-3 on penalties from the Copa del Rey in the second round of the competition thanks to an unlikely hero for the lowly hosts.
That was Pol Arnau, a 19-year-old left-back who had to step up and play as a stand-in goalkeeper after starter Kike Royo sustained an injury in extra-time when Logrones manager Sergio Rodriguez had already used all the substitutions allowed.
Arnau, who is the son of the late Barcelona and Malaga goalkeeper Francesc Arnau and brother of fifth-division Mollerussa keeper Marc Arnau, showed he is no stranger to the task and made several saves to withstand Girona's pressure and take the match to a penalties shootout following a goalless draw.
Then, Arnau once again flashed and saved a spot-kick from Girona star striker Abel Ruiz, with Cristhian Stuani hitting the crossbar later to seal the home side's stunning victory.
After Espanyol was knocked out 2-0 by lowly Barbastro on Tuesday, Girona were not the only LaLiga side to also kiss goodbye early to the Spanish Cup as Villarreal were stunned by fourth-division's Pontevedra 1-0 thanks to a last-gasp goal by Dalisson de Almeida.
Valladolid needed to go to extra-time to beat Real Avila 4-2 and advance, while Leganes beat fourth-division Estepona 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Valencia, Betis, Celta Vigo, Las Palmas and Rayo Vallecano all advanced with easy wins.
Atletico Madrid will face Cacereno on Thursday while Real Madrid and Barcelona will only debut in the next round of the competition.
