It still baffles me how this Espanyol team still managed to win Real Madrid, although it's true that every game comes with it own approach but I still can't wrap my head around how they actually managed to win Los Blancos few weeks ago. This same Espanyol team is currently finding it difficult to hold the ball against Girona as the game is going on now. As it stands, Girona is almost every where in terms of possession and their opponent is struggling to even make few passes. Although the score line is still 0 - 0 yet.
Espanyol just tried to defend well against Real Madrid and they tried to take advantage of their opportunities well. Sure enough, Espanyol managed to thwart many goal opportunities from Real Madrid in that match and they managed to score 1 goal to win the match. I wouldn't say it was luck, but Espanyol's hard work and strategy really managed to beat Real Madrid.
It is very common to see teams with lower squad depth try to play total defensive football against teams like Real Madrid or Barcelona, at least this approach allows them to get points. For today's match, Espanyol were more open in terms of play, they created several chances, but Girona certainly controlled more.