Madrid, March 3 (IANS) Real Madrid dropped two points in Valencia in a game that ended in controversy when referee Gil Manzano blew the final whistle moments before Jude Bellingham headed in what would have been a 3-2 winner for the league leaders.
The referee had told the players that a Real Madrid corner would be the last action of the game. But after Valencia half-cleared the ball, he ended the game as the ball was swung back into the Valencia box, reports Xinhua.
Gil Manzano then showed Bellingham a red card for his protests as he was surrounded by Madrid players claiming a goal.
Valencia had led 2-0 with Hugo Duro’s header on 27 minutes and Roman Yaremchuk doubling their lead three minutes later after a dreadful Dani Carvajal backpass.
Vinicius Jr pulled Madrid back into the game from close range in the first half injury time and he scored the equalizer in the 76th minute to set up an intense end to the game which also saw Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby suffer a bad-looking knee injury.
Sevilla continued to climb away from the danger zone towards mid-table with a 3-2 win at home to Real Sociedad, who had a bad week after losing in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored for Sevilla in the 11th and 13th minutes. Although Andre Silva cut the deficit in the 45th minute with a penalty kick after a Sergio Ramos handball, Ramos assured the win with a 65th minute header. Brais Mendez’s 92nd minute free kick meant a nervous end for the home fans.
Getafe and Las Palmas shared six goals in a thrilling 3-3 which saw the visitors come back from 3-1 down to save a point.
Jaime Mata and Mason Greenwood put Getafe 2-0 up after just 13 minutes, and Sandro Ramirez pulled a goal back after 36 minutes for Las Palmas.
Nemanja Maksimovic’s goal on the stroke of halftime reestablished Getafe’s two-goal lead, but two efforts in the 50th and 57th minutes from Sergi Cardona and Munir El Haddadi (who had a goal ruled out for offside a couple of minutes earlier) saw the points shared.
Oscar Mingueza’s 73rd minute shot gave Celta Vigo a narrow 1-0 win at home to bottom side Almeria, which eased their relegation fears.
Mingueza powered home from outside of the box after Almeria defender Bruno Lange was sent off for a dangerous challenge and the visitors also lost Luka Romero after a collision with a teammate saw him carried off with a head injury.
Celta move five points clear of Cadiz, who saved a point away from Rayo Vallecano with Javi Hernandez’s late equalizer after Florien Lejeune had put Rayo ahead after the restart in a game that had to be halted due to a heavy hailstorm that fell on Madrid.
–IANS
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