Mueez Ajao
– Carlo Ancelotti said an “invented” penalty cost Real Madrid all three points in a 1-1 draw with Girona in LaLiga on Sunday.
– Madrid went ahead through Vinicius Junior in the 70th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu before visitors Girona were awarded a penalty 10 minutes later when Marco Asensio was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box.
– Girona’s Cristhian Stuani scored the resulting penalty, and Rodrygo had a late goal ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, as Madrid had to settle for a draw which left them just a point ahead of Barcelona at the top of the table.
Also Read: Late VAR drama as Madrid draw at home to Girona
– “I don’t like talking about these things, but today I will,” Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference, when asked about the penalty and disallowed goal. “The first situation is quite clear. [Asensio] didn’t touch the ball with his hand. I spoke to him. He touched it with his chest.”
🎙| Ancelotti: "I don't like to talk about referees but I will today. It was not a penalty. It was clear. The ball hit Asensio's chest."
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 30, 2022
– “His left hand was in a strange position, and if he touched the ball with his hand there could be a doubt. But he didn’t. They invented it. The second one is more debatable. [Gazzaniga] didn’t have total control [of the ball]. You can have an opinion on that, you can give it or not. What surprises me is the penalty.”
– “Marco [Asensio] says it hit his chest and then his hand,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “In theory, I think that after a rebound like that, it isn’t handball. I don’t think it would be given in the Champions League. Today they decided it was handball. It’s strange. Sometimes it’s handball, sometimes it isn’t. You don’t know. But we have to look at ourselves too.”
🎙| Ancelotti: "Asensio never touched the ball with his arm. They have made it up."
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 30, 2022
🎙 Courtois: “I don't think this [Asensio’s handball] is called for in the Champions League. They thought it was a handball and that's it. It's very rare, sometimes it's a handball, sometimes not. We don't know when it is.”
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 30, 2022
– The draw follows Madrid’s first defeat of the season in midweek, when they lost 3-2 away at RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
– Last year’s Champions League and LaLiga winners will have the chance to secure top spot in group F on Wednesday when they host Celtic, before they play two more LaLiga games — against Rayo Vallecano and Cadiz — ahead of the break for the World Cup.
– “This was a difficult game, but that’s normal at this stage [of the season],” Ancelotti said. “We were on track with the goal. Then the ‘non- penalty’ cost us the points.”
👔 @MrAncelotti: "The penalty arrived at a crucial time because the game was all but wrapped up."#RealMadridiGirona pic.twitter.com/oTxbshZqNC
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 30, 2022
