Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t pleased with referee Artur Soares Dias’s decision when Kevin de Bruyne’s equalizer counted in the UEFA Champions League first-leg semifinal 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
The Italian manager feels Manchester United’s goal in the 67th minute of play should not have counted as the ball had gone out but he believes the referee failed to make the right call.
Meanwhile, Vini Jr. scored a stunning goal for Los Blancos in the 36th minute but the visitors achieved parity with a controversial equalizer from Kevin de Bruyne.
“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!’
“It was out. It’s not me saying it; the technology does,” Ancelotti added in his postmatch news conference. “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.”
Ancelotti believes his team deserved to win but they were hard done by the referee’s call. However, the Italian was feeling satisfied as the tie is still open before they travel to the Etihad Stadium on May 17 for the second leg.
“[The feeling] is good,” Ancelotti said after Tuesday’s game. “We competed, we fought and maybe we deserved to win. It was a good game. The result doesn’t give us our reward, but this tie will be even until the last minute.”
On the other hand, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola feels his team wasn’t able to take advantage in the first half despite playing well. The Spaniard believes Erling Haaland could not find space and they will look to come up with better tactics in the second leg.
“It’s football,” Guardiola said. “It’s Real Madrid. I wasn’t surprised. We’ll have to see how we can find a balance, if we can attack a little bit.
“[David] Alaba and [Antonio] Rudiger were so close to Erling [Haaland]. The spaces between the center-backs and full-backs were occupied; it wasn’t easy to find space for Erling. We’ll try to make some changes, to play with a little bit more rhythm.”
