Three penalties, one red card. Could a clasico pass without anything less? And yet of all the monumental incidents, only one appeared legitimate. One cannot fault referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco too much for his part in settling Sundays game, though its impossible to argue that his interventions were anything less than vital to the final score. The first spot kick simply wasnt; though Alves visibly tripped Ronaldo as he tried to wizard his way into the box, the foul happened outside the area. The second appeared equally contentious; Neymar did brilliantly to ghost in front of Sergio Ramos but the contact between the two, a tangle of legs as the Brazilian cut across his marker, appeared difficult to attribute solely to the Real defender. Undiano Mallenco had little choice on penalty No. 3, as Iniesta wedged and mugged between Carvajal and Alonso as 10-man Real tried to stay level. On another day, in another situation, with another referee, perhaps all three calls are made again. Maybe none, maybe one. Though the Blaugrana deserve full credit for their persistent, passionate performance with their backs seemingly against the wall heading into the game, its easy to see why Reals players and fans might see it differently.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 23:11:41 +0000
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