- Barcelona suffered late defeat to Real Madrid thanks to Jude Bellingham
- Catalan boss Xavi was furious with the refereeing decisions after the match.
- Hope is not lost for Arsenal and it’s not right that Oleksandr Zinchenko is being made a scapegoat: listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Barcelona coach Xavi became angry at perceived refereeing injustice further after seeing his side’s slim hopes of winning the Spanish title disappear.
“I won’t say anything about the referee because I’ll be banned if I do, but he was there for everyone to see,” he said. “We were the better team tonight and we deserved to win.”
The Barcelona coach was unhappy that a first-half Lamine Yamal shot on goal was ruled out for not crossing the line.
La Liga does not have goal-line technology and various freeze frames looked inconclusive after the 16-year-old took a Raphinha corner towards goal and Madrid goalkeeper Lunin pushed the ball back over the line .
“I don’t want to comment on Xavi’s comments,” replied Carlo Ancelotti. “We won this match with our energy and gave ourselves a huge advantage in the standings.”
Barcelona coach Xavi is furious at refereeing injustice after losing the Clasico to Real Madrid.
Barcelona were furious after Lamine Yamal’s first-half shot was ruled not to have crossed the line.
Real Madrid stars, including match winner Jude Bellingham, celebrate alongside manager Carlo Ancelotti
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen was also furious that the first-half “ghost goal” was not awarded.
He said: “It’s a shame they can’t find an angle to check the goal.” I have no words to describe this.
Xavi’s speech didn’t stop at the goal-line incident. He said: “The referee didn’t make a single good decision.
Video replays showed Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin collecting the ball from what appears to be behind the goal line.
Xavi called the refereeing decisions against his team a “disgrace” and claimed Barcelona “will not remain silent”.
“This is a shame and we should not remain silent. I was hoping the referee would go unnoticed or make the right decisions, but it was neither.
Jude Bellingham was Barcelona’s villain at the Santiago Bernabeu as the Englishman scored his third goal of the season in the Clasico to salvage a stoppage-time win for the hosts.
It was a classic comeback from the Spanish giants who found themselves 2-1 down when Fermin Lopez gave the visitors a 2-1 lead after scoring in the 69th minute.
His effort was quickly canceled out when Lucas Vasquez equalized before Bellingham’s late winner.
