Controversial referee's decisions helped Real Madrid to be La Liga leaders

Real Madrid suffered a hard blow last Thursday, when they lost 4-2 against Atlético Madrid and were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. So now they were aiming this Sunday to get a win against Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to put that bad memory behind them and focus on La Liga, where they are competing against Girona for the top of the standings.

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But things did not start well for them, as before the first minute the visitors scored the opener through Largie Ramazani, who received the ball in the box after a good collective play. And near the end of the first half, Almeria again surprised everyone: Edgar Gonzalez captured a rebound outside the box and shot very hard with his left foot, making it impossible for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to react.

After the break, things changed. Real Madrid showed more energy and manager Ancelotti made changes that improved the team. However, the key was none of those, but the controversial decisions of the referee and the VAR. After 12 minutes, Francisco José Hernández Maeso was called to review an alleged handball by Kaiky inside the box and gave a penalty. Jude Bellingham netted the first goal from the spot.

Just a few minutes later, Almeria scored through Sergio Arribas, but again the VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out for a debatable foul against Jude Bellingham in the previous play. And that was not all, as in the next attack Vinicius Junior netted the leveller. The referee initially charged handball of the Brazilian winger, but the VAR made him change his mind and finally the goal was valid. This caused protests from Almeria and so coach Gaizka Garitano was sent off.

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Dani completed the comeback

Francisco José Hernández Maeso's last controversial decision was to add 12 minutes of stoppage time. That was too much for Almeria, who could not prevent Dani Carvajal's goal that gave Los Merengues the win. With those three points, they became the sole leaders of the La Liga standings, at least until Girona play their match against Sevilla.