Controversial referee decisions that caused Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano's ire

This 25th La Liga matchday could be key for Real Madrid. They have a 5-point lead over Girona, their closest rivals, and an even bigger advantage over Barcelona. Los Tozudos on Monday will have a very difficult game against Athletic Bilbao at the Estadio Nuevo San Mames, so they may have trouble getting a win. But Los Merengues, on the contrary, are facing one of the weakest teams in the tournament: Rayo Vallecano.

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Los Franjirrojos are in 15th place in the standings with only 24 points, dangerously close to the relegation zone. That is why Real Madrid have an unbeatable opportunity to get a win that would allow them to increase their lead over the other teams in the La Liga standings and take a key step towards the title.

However, things are not going as they had hoped. At the start of the match Carlo Ancelotti's team scored the opener through Joselu, who received an assist from Federico Valverde and beat the resistance of goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski with a precise shot. The linesman initially raised the flag and signaled offside, but finally the VAR validated the goal.

Moments later, a Joselu goal was disallowed again, although this time with good reason, as the ball had left the field of play in the previous play. And the VAR intervened again on 23 minutes, when Oscar Trejo shot and the ball hit Eduardo Camavinga's arm. The referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz reviewed the images and gave a penalty for the hosts, who scored the leveller through Raul de Tomas. However, that was not the referee's last controversial decision: as the first half was ending, he decided to blow the whistle when Rayo Vallecano were attacking Real Madrid, which caused the players' anger.

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What will the coach do?

Undoubtedly Carlo Ancelotti must not be satisfied with the team's performance during the first half. That is why he may make changes after the break. Real Madrid's substitutes are: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Diego Piñeiro, Jacobo Ramon, Daniel Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, Toni Kroos, Arda Guler and Rodrygo Goes.