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Real Madrid maintained its perfect start to LaLiga season with a hard victory 2-1 on Real Sociedad on Saturday, although the game was overshadowed by the controversy that surrounded Dean Hujsen’s red card.
The defender was dismissed in the 32nd minute after referee Jesus Gil ruled that his challenge at Mikel Oyarzabal denied a clear goal opportunity.
At that time, Madrid was already ahead thanks to the first strike of Kylian Mbappe. Playing with 10 men for almost an hour, Los Blancos was forced to dig on the Reale Arena.
Arda Guler extended the visitors’ advantage before the pause, but Oyarzabal turned a penalty of the second half to set a tense end.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Madrid won a fourth consecutive victory in the league.
After the game, coach Xabi Alonso openly questioned the referee’s trial. “For me, it was a yellow card,” Alonso said during his press conference. “(Eder) Militao was near. The ball was not under control. There was still 40 meters to go.”
He added: “It’s my interpretation, the referee had another, and the VAR had another. I asked for an explanation and did not convince me much, but let’s leave it … Winning in Anoeta is always very difficult, and today it has been even more difficult.”
Alonso described Huijsen as “relieved” and “angry” after the final whistle. The coach admitted that the defender’s lack was “avoidable”, but he kept firm that a red card was too serious.
“When there are clear mistakes, I like to intervene,” he continued. “I don’t want to make this a monologue about the referee … he greatly conditioned the game.”
Madrid’s head was in animated discussion with referee Gil after the game. “We talked about his interpretation,” said Alonso. “I didn’t convince me much. But it’s there, we can’t do anything. Let’s see if other explanations convince me.”
The scorer MBAPPE, which now has four in LaLiga this campaign, acknowledged the amount that changed the dynamics. “The red card changed the game a bit,” Real Madrid TV told Real. “We suffered as a team, but we returned home with all three points.”
Real Madrid TV later reported that the club compiles a dossier of arbitration decisions this season and last, which intends to submit to FIFA in the hope of drawing attention to what they think is a persistent problem.
