In the derby match of the 32nd round of the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona with a score of 3-2 and practically solved the question of the champion.
Six rounds before the end, the Kings have 11 points more than Barcelona, and the race for the champion is over, considering that only theory keeps the Catalans in the game.
The first half was full of controversial referee decisions, and Barcelona took the lead in the 6th minute with a goal by Christensen. Real equalized in the 18th minute from a penalty converted by Vinicius, although Barcelona players believed that Vasquez had actually tripped over Cubarsij’s leg and practically induced the penalty.
In the 28th minute, there was a real VAR drama. Referee Cesar Soto Grado consulted for a long time with the VAR room referees because there was almost no proper camera angle after Lunin, the Real goalkeeper, stopped Yamal’s shot behind the goal line.
However, the referees were of the opinion that the ball did not entirely cross the goal line, and the goal was not awarded, although there remained a dilemma as to whether this was indeed the case.
In Spain, there is no so-called “goal-line technology” that suggests to referees via a sound signal in such situations whether the ball has crossed the goal line, so VAR had to decide.
At the end of the first half, Frenkie de Jong suffered a serious injury after a duel with Federico Valverde, and the Barcelona midfielder left the field on a stretcher to the applause of the home crowd.
In the second half, both sides played quite cautiously, and then in the 69th minute, Barcelona took the lead again. Lamine Yamal crossed from the right side, and after the rebounded ball, Fermin Lopez scored from close range to make it 2-1.
The joy of the Catalans lasted only three minutes, as Vazquez escaped Barcelona’s defense and equalized unopposed to make it 2-2.
Until the end, Barca attacked, but could not score for victory. Instead, in the 91st minute, Real scored for 3-2 after a quick attack, and the scorer was Bellingham, his 17th goal in the championship.
Real Madrid will visit Real Sociedad in the next round, while Barcelona will host Valencia.
Score and scorers:
Real Madrid – Barcelona 3:2 (Vinicius 18′ pen., Vazquez 73′, Bellingham 90+1′ / Christensen 6′, Fermin Lopez 69′)
