Real Madrid's winning run surprisingly ends in loss at Espanyol

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid’s winning run ended in stunning fashion after losing at relegation-threatened Espanyol 1-0 on Saturday in La Liga.

Defender Carlos Romero's late goal beat the La Liga leader and moved Espanyol out of the bottom three.

Espanyol inched two points clear of the drop zone, while Madrid's lead was cut to one point after Atletico Madrid beat Mallorca 2-0 earlier.

Madrid, which found out on Friday that it will face Manchester City in the Champions League knockout playoff round, travelled to Espanyol with 10 victories in its last 11 matches in all competitions.

It dominated and Vinícius Júnior thought he gave the visitors the lead in the 21st minute but it was ruled out due to a foul by Kylian Mbappé on Espanyol midfielder Pol Lozano.

Madrid was made to pay for its missed opportunities five minutes from time when Romero volleyed in Omar El Hilali’s cross, much to the home fans’ raucous — and surprised — delight.

Atletico went into its match against seventh-placed Mallorca having lost both of its last two league matches and with only two wins in its last four games after a run of 15 consecutive victories.

It took the lead in the 26th minute when Giuliano Simeone sprinted down the right before rolling the ball across the edge of the area for Samuel Lino to fire into the bottom right corner.

Rodrigo Riquelme hit the crossbar with a free kick two minutes from time and provided the through ball for substitute Antoine Griezmann to run onto and delightfully chip the goalkeeper and seal the match in stoppages.

Fifth-placed Villarreal crushed bottom club Real Valladolid 5-1 and Getafe drew with Sevilla 0-0.

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Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti watches the play in front of the substitutes bench during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Feb.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior protests during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Feb.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, centre, reacts after Espanyol's Carlos Romero scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Feb.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Espanyol players celebrate after Carlos Romero scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Feb.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, centre and Luka Modric, right, react after Espanyol's Carlos Romero scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Espanyol and Real Madrid at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday Feb.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)