Madrid - A 1-0 defeat away to hard-working Valladolid on Saturday leaves Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster in jeopardy.

The defeat confirms Real's massive crisis, coming as it does just four days after crashing out of the King's Cup against third division Union Irun.

Schuster may be sacked before Tuesday's Champions League clash away to BATE Borislav. Towards the end of the tense clash, he looked dejected, dispirited - and even resigned to his fate.

Valladolid won thanks to a lot of hard work - and thanks to a classy goal from Fabian Cannobio.

Canobbio struck in the 48th minute, after a scrappy first half. Pedro Leon centred from the right, Canobbio controlled calmly and scored with a powerful left-foot drive.

The closest that dull Real came to equalizing was in the 87th minute, when an appalling back-pass from Borja Fernandez set up Raul. However, the veteran hit man was foiled by Valladolid keeper Sergio Asenjo, who enjoyed a surprisingly quiet evening.

Two minutes later, Valladolid defender Pedro Lopez had to clear a Fabio Cannavaro header off the line.

The tight win takes Valladolid up to tenth.

"It was a hard game," said Lopez. "We had to take care of all the details out there, in order to get this result."

Real stay in joint third place, level on 23 points with Valencia, who are at home to lowly Sporting Gijon later on Saturday.

Valencia and Real are one point behind second-placed Villarreal - away to Malaga on Sunday - and two behind leaders Barcelona, who are away to Recreativo Huelva. (dpa)