LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is adamant that Manchester City’s equalizer should have been disallowed due to “technology”-backed evidence.
Following periods of sustained pressure from City, a stunning goal from the mesmerizing Vinicius Junior gave the hosts a startling advantage.
But shortly after the hour mark, when Pep Guardiola’s team was already significantly under pressure, they fought their way back into the game.
It appeared that Bernardo Silva had lost control of the ball in the lead-up to Kevin De Bruyne’s long-range piledriver.
Ancelotti was given a yellow card at the time for his protests, and he wasn’t any less furious after the game was over.
“It looked like [the ball] was out,” Ancelotti told Movistar. “And before that, there was a corner which [the referee] didn’t give. The referee wasn’t very attentive. He gave me a yellow card, and I said, ‘Give them on the pitch, not off it!’
The Italian continued his grievances in his post-match press conference, adding: “It was out. It’s not me saying it; the technology does. It surprises me. They’re small details, but the referee wasn’t attentive. The players deserved more cards on the pitch, not [me] off the pitch.”
After the game, beIN SPORTS did indeed show off the “technology” that Ancelotti was referring to, and it seemed to corroborate that the ball had left the field of play.
However, VAR authorities cannot employ such advances in real time, hence the judgment was not changed, considering how precariously perched the return match at the Etihad Stadium in a week would be, it was certainly no less than City earned on the night.
While Real Madrid hosts Getafe the day before City’s game against Real Madrid, City faces the unenviable challenge of playing relegation-threatened Everton on the Sunday in between their two semi-final contests.