Carlo Ancelotti hits out at referees after Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid – ‘Inexplicable’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid dropped three vital points against Espanyol, losing steam on the top of the leaderboard and reducing their lead over Atletico Madrid to just one point last night.

The defeat could not have been more untimely, especially with the Madrid derby coming up next weekend and Barcelona no longer far down the standings.

While Espanyol did indeed pull off a 1-0 win, the game at the RCDE Stadium was far from clear and involved serious refereeing controversy as an Espanyol player who should have been sent off for an ugly challenge ended up scoring the winner.

Ancelotti’s hits out at referees

Speaking to the media after his team’s defeat at the RCDE Stadium, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed his unhappiness over the result and the overall controversy that unfolded against Espanyol.

Ancelotti criticized the referee. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

He began by criticizing the referee and VAR off the bat, blaming their inefficiency for the team’s poor result.

“The decision made by the referee and the VAR is inexplicable. The most important thing is to protect the player and it was a clear foul, a very ugly challenge with risk.”

“Fortunately nothing happened, but there was a risk of injury. The VAR is also responsible for this. It seems inexplicable to us that he didn’t get the red card,” he added on the controversial moment.

Real Madrid’s defeat last night has put the spotlights on the refereeing in La Liga once more, for it has largely been questionable this season.

When asked to comment on the same, Ancelotti refused, saying,

“I don’t want to talk about this topic. I am referring only to what has happened today in the game and, I repeat, we find the decision they have made when everyone has seen it inexplicable.”

On the game itself

He then turned his focus to the sporting aspect of the game where his side struggled to find the back of the net, saying,

Ancelotti admitted the game was complicated. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

“It has been a difficult, complicated game. We did some things well, we had good control, especially in the second part. We have scored a goal that was disallowed, hit the post and shot 20 times on goal.”

He then praised the opponents for executing their game plan to perfection and making the most of their chance to score.

“The game was quite controlled, but Espanyol, which has played very well in the transition, has found us out of place and has scored the goal. They have played the game they wanted.”

The manager was then asked why Vinicius Jr’s goal was disallowed, to which he said,

“The referee saw a foul by Mbappé.”

Toward the end of his press conference, the Italian gaffer spoke about where his side could improve and the mistakes they made against Espanyol.

“Espanyol played a very good game. They defended very well, it was what they had to do. For our part, it could have been done better, but it has not been as bad as the result reflects.”

“We had chances. We are still in the fight and we have to look at the next game,” he added.

Finally, he provided an update on Antonio Rudiger’s injury, saying,

“He has had a muscle injury, they will have to evaluate him. We know what we have to do, we have thought about it and we have talked about it.”

Source: Real Madrid website