Kylian Mbappe was shown a red card during Real Madrid’s clash against Deportivo Alaves on Sunday. Shortly after Eduardo Camavinga fired Los Blancos ahead, the 26-year-old forward was given his marching orders for a dangerously reckless challenge.
Mbappe was late to a duel in the middle of the park, planting the studs of his right boot on the inside of Antonio Blanco’s shin. The Video Assistant Referee reviewed the incident and urged Cesar Soto Grado to take a second look via the pitch-side monitor.
The on-field referee, who has shown more red cards than any other official in La Liga this season, dismissed Mbappe, sending him for an early shower. The France international now faces a lengthy ban.
Kylian Mbappe is sent off during Real Madrid’s game against Alaves on Sunday (Image: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Florentino Perez, who travelled to the Basque City to watch Real , was in attendance at the Mendizorrotza Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately for Los Blancos, Mbappe’s suspension will not carry over to the UEFA Champions League.
Real host Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening for the highly-anticipated second leg of the quarter-final. The Gunners cruised past Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, securing a comfortable three-goal cushion.
Despite having been shown a red card this weekend, Mbappe remains available for selection in Champions League. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ancelotti insisted that Real will ‘try until the last minute’ to overcome the deficit.
“Every defeat brings difficult moments, you have to think how to turn it around and focus on what’s coming,” said the former Chelsea and Everton boss. “Fortunately, in football, you always have the chance to come back and have a good game. “
Ancelotti added: “The statistics are quite clear, we have run less than our opponent and that has affected us. We could have done much more, but it wasn’t just this. We look at the statistics, as everyone does.”
On a comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Italian said: “We will try. Real is the only team that has done it many times, but we’ll try to do it once again.
“We’re aware of how much our fans and the stadium can help us. We’re going to try until the last minute and until the last ball, starting tomorrow.”
On Real’s drop in form, Ancelotti said: “It’s a question of the players’ attributes. The same thing happened in previous years, we were able to win by running less total distance. The statistics talk a lot about total distance but not about sprint distance, which isn’t like this.
“Despite this, we have won two Champions League trophies. Against Arsenal, we did less in every aspect: in sprint distance, in total distance, in acceleration… They worked harder than us.”
He added: “There’s been a drop generally, not just our efficiency going forward. We’ve conceded too many goals in these last few games and that’s where we need to tighten up. Defensive solidity is so important, especially when the strikers are not as effective as they have always been…”
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