Koeman blasts referee over calls in Clasico loss

MADRID • Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman raged against the referee for not awarding them a penalty in their 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid in Saturday's Clasico, which knocked them off course in La Liga's three-way title race.

The Catalans had two late penalty claims dismissed as they chased the game, with Martin Braithwaite going to ground both times after challenges from Ferland Mendy.

"If you're a Barcelona fan and you saw this game, you'd be very annoyed with two of the referee's decisions. It was a clear, clear penalty and then he only gave four minutes of stoppage time," the Dutch coach told Spanish network Movistar.

Koeman, who was just as angry when his side were beaten 3-1 by Real last October with the help of a contentious penalty, ended his post-match interview early after expressing his thoughts on the second challenge.

"Once again, we just have to accept it and shut up," he added.

But while Koeman vented his displeasure at referee Jesus Gil Manzano, he admitted his side had made a poor start to the game.

It was a contrast to their recent domestic form that has enabled Barca to revive their title aspirations with 16 wins and three draws from their past 19 La Liga fixtures.

"In the first half, we didn't play well in attack or defence. We were better in the second, and all I ask is that the referee makes the right decisions," he added.

Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos had put Real two goals up before half-time, with Oscar Mingueza netting for Barca on the hour mark.

Both sides missed further opportunities, with Barca captain Lionel Messi hitting the post while a shot from substitute Ilaix Moriba came off the bar in the last minute of added time.

Real also struck the woodwork via Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior as they held on to record three consecutive Clasico wins for the first time since 1978.

Three straight Clasico wins for Real Madrid for the first time in 43 years.

Lionel Messi has not scored or created a goal in the last seven Clasicos.

Doing the league double over Barca could mean the difference between retaining or losing their La Liga title for Real, who are just a point above their third-placed rivals (65) with eight games remaining. Atletico Madrid were behind Real on head-to-head results before playing Betis last night.

The battling result left Zinedine Zidane delighted and the Frenchman claimed it was unfair to say that his side, who have now dropped just four points from their last 10 La Liga outings, had won only because of the chalked-off penalty call.

"We should be very happy with our performance and you cannot say it was all down to the referee, we deserved the win," the Real coach said.

"If the referee says it wasn't a penalty, it's because it wasn't one. The important thing from our point of view is what we did on the pitch.

"We made an excellent start, then suffered a bit because Barca are a great side but we had a lot of chances to score the third goal. In the end, the win was well deserved."

REUTERS