Another tense evening for Real Madrid. Beaten by Celta Vigo this Sunday at the conclusion of the 15th day of La Liga (0-2), the Merengues relapsed four days after their convincing victory on the pitch of Athletic Bilbao in the wake of an excellent Kylian Mbappé (0-3).
A defeat that is hard to accept for the Madrilenians, who had not lost by two goals in their Santiago Bernabéu lair against an opponent other than FC Barcelona in the league since May 2019. This setback also lets the Catalan rival slip to the top of La Liga. The Blaugrana are four points ahead in the standings this Monday morning, while they were five behind after the Clasico won by Real on October 26 (2-1).
Beyond the defeat, it was above all the nervousness displayed on the pitch which surprised the followers on Sunday evening. Against Celta, Xabi Alonso’s men finished 9 against 11 due to the expulsions of Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras. The latter was sent to the locker room in added time after vehemently protesting a refereeing decision. “You are pitiful,” said the Spanish left-back towards Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez, the official in charge of the debates, as specified in the arbitration report consulted by several Spanish media including Marca.
“Your refereeing is pitiful”
According to this document, Endrick also received a red card – while he was a substitute – for “getting up from the bench, leaving the technical area, shouting at the fourth referee and having to be restrained by members of the technical staff”.
Mr. Quintero Gonzalez also noted in his report an incident with Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal, who is currently sidelined with a dislocated right knee. “Once the match was over, in the tunnel leading to the locker room, I recognized the player (Carvajal), in civilian clothes and not in sports clothing, who addressed me in these terms: Your refereeing is pitiful, and then you cry at a press conference », explains the referee.
Increasingly criticized in the Spanish capital, Xabi Alonso did not fail to target the 32-year-old referee during his post-match press conference. “I didn’t like the referee’s performance. His decisions made us crazy,” said the Merengue coach.
To the point that the Madrid locker room completely collapsed at the end of the meeting. According to information revealed by journalist Edu Aguirre during the show The Chiringuitothe tone would be raised between the players. “Bottles, bandages… absolutely everything was flying,” he said. “The players’ anger and frustration with the refereeing was palpable. »
“Real Madrid is lost”
“It was at that moment that tension appeared, with another part of the locker room criticizing those who criticized the refereeing,” said the Real Madrid follower. “They said it wasn’t an excuse, and the phrase that was literally reported to me was: It’s a stupid excuse! We are losing the championship. There were moments of tension because of the Real Madrid situation. »
A scene that Xabi Alonso would not have witnessed, completely absent from the Madrid locker room after the match according to the Spanish journalist. “There was no exchange, no contact, absolutely none, with the players after the match.” Enough to revive rumors of a divide with his senior players, including Vinicius and Jude Bellingham, who reportedly dropped him according to several Spanish media.
“Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid: when the project collapses because of the locker room,” wrote Marca on the front page of its website this morning. The sports daily opens its newspaper with a scathing: “Real Madrid is lost”. Atmosphere, three days before Manchester City host the Champions League…
