Madrid slip to defeat in Barcelona, with refereeing and VAR controversy

Real Madrid were beaten by Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium in a match overshadowed by the performance of referee Muñiz Ruiz and Iglesias Villanueva in the VAR room. Neither of them deemed a red card was to be awarded for Carlos Romero, whose tackle from behind caught Mbappé's left knee. This was the 62nd minute and in the 85th minute, a goal from Romero gave the home side the three points. In the first half, Muñiz Ruiz also disallowed a goal from Vini Jr., for a foul by Mbappé on Pol Lozano, who grabbed the Madridista striker by the neck as he entered the area.
 
The Whites dominated from the start, but after the first quarter of an hour, Ancelotti was forced to send on Asencio for Rüdiger, who had to withdraw with an injury. Three minutes later, the first shot on goal arrived. Jofre Carreras tried his luck from the edge of the box and Courtois stretched to make the save. Real Madrid were quick to respond. In the 22nd minute, Vini Jr. received the ball on the edge of the area and drove towards the centre until he spotted a gap through which he could put the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed for a prior foul by Mbappé. In the replay, it was plain to see that Pol Lozano had grabbed the Frenchman by the neck as he entered the area and that the striker then shook off the Espanyol player.

Mbappé hits the post
On 39', Bellingham went close with a drive from the edge of the box, but the ball ended up in the hands of Joan García. It remained goalless as the side went into the break and after the interval the visitors almost took the lead. In the 51st minute Bellingham collected the ball and unleashed a left-footed effort that forced a great save from Joan García, but the rebound fell to Kylian Mbappé, who struck the post with his follow-up shot. The minutes elapsed and in the 62nd minute came the most controversial moment of the game. Mbappé was racing towards the opposition goal and Carlos Romero, having no chance of reaching the ball, tried to thwart the counter-attack with a tackle from behind that caught the Frenchman's left calf. Referee Muñiz Ruiz showed him a yellow card and in the VAR room Iglesias Villanueva, did not call his colleague over to review the incident, which should have been punished with a red card.

Rodrygo also hits the woodwork
Madrid were still on the hunt for a goal and in the 73rd minute Vini Jr. fired in a long-range shot narrowly off target. Three minutes later, Rodrygo got the ball on the edge of the area, skipped past Carlos Romero with a beautiful feint and his finish crashed against the post. The Whites pressed Espanyol and in the 78th minute, a sharp shot from Kylian Mbappé was turned behind for a corner by Joan García.
 
Ancelotti's men certainly deserved to score, but it was Carlos Romero who made it 1-0 in the 85th minute following a counterattack. Romero who should have been sent off more than 20 minutes earlier scored. From then until the end, the Madridistas threw everyone forward in search of an equaliser, which almost came at the death when Kylian Mbappé's volley went over. Real Madrid went down in Barcelona but remain top of the league.