Mbappé's foul (and expulsion) at Mendizorrotza

BarcelonaReal Madrid played their 31st La Liga match this Sunday at Alavés. But beyond the scoreline (0-1 in favor of Real Madrid), the star of the match had to leave the Mendizorrotza pitch early. We're talking about Kylian Mbappé, who was sent off after recklessly tackling Antonio Blanco, the Vitoria-Bissau's central midfielder, in the 38th minute.

The incident in question is a landmark. In a divided ball in the warm zone of the pitch, the French forward left his studs marked between the knee and ankle. Miraculously, Blanco was able to continue playing, but he could have said goodbye to his career. Mbappé left the locker room tunnel, upset, and the Real Madrid bench protested Soto Grado's decision, which resulted in the red card after a VAR review. Initially, the referee from La Rioja had shown only a yellow card. The match report stated that the French striker was sent off "for diving with his foot at the level of the goal line while challenging for a ball with excessive form." He therefore faces a ban of one to three matches and is not in danger of appearing in the Cup final.

Between regular time and stoppage time, Madrid competed for over an hour with ten men. Carlo Ancelotti's team, who play the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday (3-0 in the first leg), have picked up three important points to continue their chances in La Liga after the Barça's victory this Saturday at Leganés. The scorer for Real Madrid was Eduardo Camavinga, thanks to a great shot from the edge of the area in the 34th minute.

The same punishment for Manu Sánchez

Alavés also saw one of their players go down for a reckless tackle. In the 69th minute, Vinícius was going over in transition, and Manu Sánchez, the Vitoria-born defender closing in on his own half, also scored with the bottom of his boot against the opponent's calf. Soto Grado didn't even see a foul, but Gil Manzano recommended he review the incident on the monitor. A straight red card, ten against ten, and much less suffering for Madrid until the end.