Penalty conversions from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale pushed Real Madrid to a controversial 1-2 victory over Levante on Sunday night at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia in Valencia.
No doubt the win pocketed by Los Blancos will be talked about in the days ahead, especially the second penalty call involving Casemiro and Doukoure. Both calls came after a review from VAR, but there was much more to the story of Sunday’s result.
Some excellent football was played by Levante and the home side will rightly feel that football gods were not on their side after hitting the post twice. There was also a clear show of displeasure from Bale toward his teammates after the Welshman scored, suggesting division in the Real dressing room.
Even with the second leg of the Copa Clasico against Barcelona on Wednesday, Real manager Santiago Solari opted not to rotate and fielded his strongest possible starting XI. With Sergio Ramos suspended, Nacho was given the nod at centre-back, while the likes of Bale and Marcelo were on the bench. Also of note was that the out-of-favour Isco didn’t even land on the matchday roster.
Levante are always a tough foe at home when one of Spain’s big two come to town and they enjoyed a nice start on Sunday and had a decent shout for a penalty when Rochina went down in the area, but referee Iglesias Villanueva and VAR said there was no push from behind by Dani Carvajal.
That was followed by Roger Marti’s lung at the back post after a flicked header that saw the ball glance off the post. The chances kept coming Levante’s way and off a set piece Rober Pier was there to break the deadlock but swung a shot just over the crossbar.
Controversy would surface shortly before the half, with VAR at the forefront. A cross from Luka Modric struck the arm of Bardhi, who was covering his face right inside the penalty area. The play went to VAR and Villanueva did not take long to rule that Bardhi’s arm was outstretched enough to warrant the spot kick. Benzema stepped up and converted with no problem to make it 0-1 to Real.
Real’s good fortune at both ends continued, as for a second time Roger hit the post, this time the one to Courtois’ right after a nicely worked build-up from the hosts.
Levante’s effort would finally pay off at the hour mark with a wonderfully worked goal. An Antonio Luna pass was filtered into Jose Morales on the left flank and his cross was met by the charging Roger, who perfectly redirected a spinning shot past Courtois and into goal to even the score 1-1.
Solari made his first change shortly thereafter, taking off Toni Kroos for Fede Valverde, as Los Blancos started to take control in search of a winner. Vinicius had been wreaking havoc on the right side of the Levante defence and the speedy Brazilian had it all there to regain the lead for Real but was denied by Levante goalkeeper Aitor.
Solari then made his second substitute, as Benzema yielded his spot to Bale, who suddenly found himself staring at the match’s decisive moment. Villanueva once again drew the ire of the home fans when he whistled a penalty in Real’s favour after Casemiro looked to have collided with Doukoure in the Levante area.
VAR ruled that Villanueva’s call stood, even though replays showed no contact between the two, and the Welshman confident scored the penalty for a 1-2 Real lead. But Bale was far from happy after scoring, refusing to celebrate and even brushing off the pat on the back from Lucas Vazquez.
It wasn’t an easy finish for Real though, as Nacho was issued with a second yellow card, leaving Real with 10 men for the final minutes, however Solari’s men hung on to collect the three points to stay nine points back of Barcelona in the league table.
Match Sheet:
1.- Levante: Aitor; Simon, Cabaco, Vezo, Rober Pier, Luna; Rochina (Doukoure, min. 60), Campana, Bardhi (Vukcevic, min. 89); Morales, Roger (Raphael, min. 73)
2.- Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos (Valverde, min. 69); Lucas, Benzema (Bale, min. 74), Vinicius (Asensio, min. 83).
Goals: 0-1, min. 43: Benzema (p); 1-1, min. 60: Roger; 1-2, min. 78: Bale (p).
Referee: Iglesias Villanueva (Galician).
Yellow cards: Roger (Min. 25) for Levante, Nacho (Min. 29) for Real Madrid, Rochina (Min. 57) for Levante, Luna (Min. 84) for Levante, Nacho (Min. 86) for Real Madrid.
Red cards: Nacho (Min. 86) for Real Madrid.
Stadium: Ciutat de Valencia.
Attendance: 23.018.
