Over in England, the most recent ‘Super Sunday’ didn’t really live up to expectations, with two back-to-back goalless draws in the English showpiece fixtures between Manchester United and Liverpool, and the League Cup Final with Manchester City taking on Chelsea.
Trust La Liga to fill in that entertainment void, with some notable incidents in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Levante that will shock and astound.
At the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, two penalties, struck by Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, either side of Roger Marti’s excellent finish for the hosts sealed the three points for Real Madrid, who are trying to make ground on La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
The result helps solidify their third position in the table, assisted by one particular Madrid player’s theatrics.
Whilst the first penalty was decided by the use of VAR, correctly indicating that the ball had been handled inside the box, the second proved to be highly contentious.
The Real midfielder Casemiro produced the theatrics by laughably swandiving in the opposition box with the score tied, though from no provocation by closest player Cheick Doukoure who had swung out to seemingly clear the ball. Replays show that there was no contact between the two, but that hadn’t stopped referee Ignacio Iglesias from pointing to the spot, with Bale tucking it away minutes after he had come off the bench for Benzema.
Los Blancos were extremely fortunate to come away with maximum points, with Levante hitting the woodwork twice.
It’s a somewhat unjust result when the points should have been shared. You can see Casemiro’s cheekiness in the footage provided below.
