England star Jude Bellingham furiously told the linesman to 'f*** off' during a fraught Madrid derby which finished 1-1. Real Madrid hosted local rivals Atletico sitting a point and place above them at the top of La Liga, with Carlo Ancelotti's side were ravaged by injuries. Even before Julian Alvarez gave Atletico the lead in the first half, a fired-up Bellingham let his frustrations known. After challenging Marcos Llorente on the touchline, Bellingham expected his side to be given a throw-in. But when the decision went Atletico's way, the 21-year-old snapped.
"F*** you, man," Bellingham raged, with the pitch-side microphones clearly picking up his outburst. "F*** you," he added. Bellingham jogged away shaking his head, visibly unhappy. The midfielder didn't feel any better when Atletico were awarded a controversial penalty through VAR. Samuel Lino went down after contact from Real's Aurelien Tchouameni, who seemingly knew little about it. Ex-Manchester City striker Alvarez stepped up and sent Thibaut Courtois the wrong way just before the break.
The hosts came quickly out of the blocks for the second half and Kylian Mbappe drew them level within five minutes. Bellingham's blocked shot fell straight to the Frenchman, who made no mistake. Los Blancos dominated the second half, limiting Atletico to a few breakaways. Diego Simeone's men still caused Real problems on the counter, though, so both teams seemed could take positives from the draw. Who'll win the La Liga title - Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
The winners of the night were Barcelona, who are third but can go within a point of second-placed Atletico and one point of Real if they beat Sevilla away from home on Sunday. Much of the talk post-match was about referee Cesar Soto Grado and his two big calls - the penalty and Dani Ceballos' foul on Pablo Barrios - with Ancelotti and Simeone taking opposing views on his performance. "I don't want to talk about the referee, I just don't want to," Ancelotti fumed. "The VAR called the penalty, the referee was very close to the situation, he saw very well what happened, he must have seen a similar penalty called against Athletic. People in football don't understand this. I don't want to get into a controversy that is already big, I prefer to talk about the game.".
Simeone, meanwhile, said: "I thought the referee handled it in the best way. For some, it was a red card for Ceballos, and VAR should have reviewed, for others it was not… He understood what he understood. And in the VAR they understood that they did not have to call him. I thought he played a correct game.". Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
