Madrid maddened as Bellingham sees red for foul-mouthed ref rant
MADRID — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday his side was “bothered” after midfielder Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle in a 2-2 La Liga draw at Valencia.
England’s Bellingham was shown a red card for protesting after referee Gil Manzano blew for time an instant before Bellingham hit what would have been a 99thminute winner at the Mestalla.
Manzano blew as Brahim Diaz whipped in his would-be assist. Madrid players, coaches and substitutes flooded the pitch to confront the referee and Bellingham earned a red card.
“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters. “We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.
“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.
Madrid’s second draw in three league games leaves the 35-time Spanish champion seven points clear of second-placed Girona, who was due to face lowly Real Mallorca on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Madrid will welcome RB Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with the Spanish giant leading 1-0 from the first leg in Germany.
Valencia led 2-0 after half an hour as striker Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk deservedly put the host in front.
Madrid’s reaction came five minutes into first-half injury time with Vinicius Junior’s first goal.
The Brazil attacker then equalized with 14 minutes to play.
The game marked his return to a ground where he was racially abused last season and Vinicius celebrated both goals with gestures toward the Valencia crowd, including raising his fist to the air after one effort.
Madrid pushed forward for a winner as Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby attempted to clear but his right leg was trapped under Aurelien Tchouameni in the 89th minute. Guinea’s Diakhaby was stretchered off after players from both sides were visibly shaken by his injury.
After the incident, the referee added seven minutes of injury time. Almost two further minutes had been played when Bellingham thought he had claimed three points.
Sociedad on the slide
Earlier, a reshuffled Real Sociedad went down to a fourth defeat in its last five matches with a 3-2 loss to Sevilla ahead of its Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
This second consecutive setback in La Liga piles misery on the San Sebastian-based side just three days before it hosts PSG hoping to turn around a 2-0 first-leg deficit.
Sociedad was undone by Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who bagged a brace in just two minutes early in the game before Sergio Ramos netted the third in the 65th minute.
An Andre Silva penalty deep into first-half injury time gave the visitor hope, but Brais Mendez’s consolation in the second minute of added time was not enough.
Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Saturday it was now the “moment of truth” for his third-placed side, which is on a roll of four league wins in five ahead of a trip to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga and a Champions League return game at home to Napoli.