Real Madrid missed a chance to extend their lead at the top of La Liga on Saturday but manager Carlo Ancelotti took aim at the referee after a painful defeat to Espanyol
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was left fuming with the decision to leave Carlos Romero on the field to score Espanyol’s winner against his team on Saturday.
Madrid had a chance to extend their lead at the top of La Liga with three points in Catalunya. Espanyol went into the game sat inside the bottom three, but pulled off a stunning late win.
The issue, according to Ancelotti at least, concerned a foul committed by Romero earlier in the second half. The left-back jumped into a challenge with Kylian Mbappe, getting nowhere near the forward, but escaped with a booking.
Five minutes from time, the left-back made an even more vital contribution. Espanyol broke at pace, with Omar El Hilali swinging the ball to the back post where his fellow full-back was on hand to fire through Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois.
After the game, Ancelotti made it very clear how he felt. “The decision that has been taken is inexplicable, by both the referee and VAR. Because we have all seen what has happened,” the Italian said (via Football Espana).
“The most important thing is to watch and protect the player. It was a clear foul, a very ugly tackle, with risk and, fortunately it didn’t happen, but there was a risk of injury. VAR is also there for this. It seems inexplicable to us that red was not shown.”
The defeat was Madrid’s first in the league since December 4, when they were beaten by Athletic Bilbao. They remain a point clear of neighbours Atletico, but Diego Simeone’s side will go top if they win next week’s Madrid derby.
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Madrid also suffered an injury scare against Espanyol, with Toni Rudiger forced off just 15 minutes into the game. The German international was replaced by youngster Raul Asencio, and Ancelotti will have to play the waiting game.
“He’s had a muscle injury, they’ll have to assess it,” Ancelotti said of Rudiger. “We know what we have to do, we’ve thought about it and we’ve talked about it.”
Madrid have a tough run of fixtures up ahead, taking on Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League play-off just three days after the Atleti clash. Asencio might be required to start, or else Madrid might bring David Alaba into the fold after his recent return from a long injury lay-off.
Alaba missed the first half of the season as he recovered from an ACL tear, making a handful of appearances from the bench. He hasn’t started a match since December 2023, though, and Ancelotti will have a big decision to make on the Austria international.
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