Ancelotti slams referee after Real Madrid’s shock defeat to Espanyol

Real Madrid suffered their first La Liga defeat since December, falling 1-0 to relegation-threatened Espanyol on Saturday evening.

However, manager Carlo Ancelotti was left furious over a key refereeing decision that allowed match-winner Carlos Romero to remain on the pitch.

Romero, who scored the decisive goal late in the match, had earlier been booked for a reckless challenge on Kylian Mbappe.

Despite protests from Real Madrid, VAR did not intervene to upgrade the decision to a red card, a call Ancelotti described as “inexplicable.”

“The decision that has been taken is inexplicable, by both the referee and VAR. We have all seen what happened.

“It was a very ugly tackle, with a risk of injury. VAR is there for this,” Ancelotti told Diario AS post-match.

The league leaders dominated much of the game, recording 20 shots on goal, hitting the post, and even having a goal disallowed.

However, Espanyol defended strongly and struck on the counter to snatch all three points.

The loss puts extra pressure on Real Madrid ahead of next weekend’s Madrid derby against Atletico, who closed the gap to just one point with their own victory earlier on Saturday.