Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed his frustration over what he called an "inexplicable" refereeing decision in Saturday's match against Espanyol, where Carlos Romero escaped a red card before going on to score the winning goal in a 1-0 victory.
The controversial incident occurred in the 61st minute when Romero brought down Kylian Mbappé with a tackle from behind as the Madrid forward was breaking away on a counter-attack. Referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz only showed a yellow card, a decision that left Ancelotti bewildered.
"The decision the referee and the VAR took is inexplicable," Ancelotti said in his post-match press conference. "Everyone saw it. The most important thing is to protect the player. It's a clear foul, a very ugly challenge. Fortunately nothing happened in terms of an injury, but the VAR is there for that. It's inexplicable to us that he didn't show a red card."
Romero, who later scored the decisive goal in the 85th minute, acknowledged the severity of his challenge and revealed he had apologized to Mbappé after the match. "I knew that it's impossible to stop [Mbappé] on the run," he told DAZN. "I did what I could to stop him. The challenge was a bit ugly, I didn't like that, and I said sorry to him."
Espanyol coach Manolo González defended his player, stating there was no malicious intent in the challenge. "It was a tough challenge, but it was meant to stop the counterattack, not to hurt the opponent," González explained to DAZN.
The defeat has significant implications for the LaLiga title race, leaving Real Madrid just one point ahead of city rivals Atlético Madrid at the top of the table. The match was further marred by controversy when a Vinícius Júnior goal was disallowed in the first half for a foul by Mbappé.
Ancelotti reflected on his team's performance, saying, "The game was difficult. We did some things well. We had control, above all in the second half, and we had chances. We had a goal ruled out, we hit the woodwork. We had 20 shots on goal. Espanyol played well in transitions, defended well, they caught us out of shape and they scored."
Adding to Madrid's concerns, defender Antonio Rüdiger was forced off with a muscular injury in the 15th minute. The timing couldn't be worse for Real Madrid, who face a crucial stretch of matches including a Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Leganés, a derby against Atlético Madrid, and a Champions League playoff against Manchester City. With Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão already sidelined, and David Alaba only recently returning from a long-term absence, Ancelotti hinted at potential transfer activity before Monday's deadline, stating, "We've talked about [signings], we've thought about it and we know what we have to do."
