Zidane insists Real, not refs, deserve headlines

MADRID • Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was disappointed that he was only asked about the referee's decisions after his side earned a controversial 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad to climb above Barcelona and top La Liga.

Real captain Sergio Ramos broke the deadlock on Sunday in the 50th minute by converting a penalty, after Vinicius Jr went to ground following contact from Sociedad's Diego Llorente.

Sociedad thought they had levelled with a strike from Adnan Januzaj from outside the box but the goal was ruled out after a video assistant referee (VAR) review showed Mikel Merino obstructing the view of Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois without touching the ball.

Their sense of injustice deepened a minute later when Karim Benzema doubled Real's lead in the 71st after controlling the ball with the top of his arm, although Merino ensured an exciting finish by lashing in off the crossbar in the 83rd minute to pull one back.

"We're angry with everything but mainly with the way we lost, because the little details and the big moments went against us," said Merino.

"I was at least 5m from Courtois when I was flagged offside. I don't know if the same thing would have happened had it been in the other area but the flag went up and we feel that we have been wronged."

The day before the game, Zidane had been forced to defend his team against a suggestion from Barcelona defender Gerard Pique that decisions were going Real's way after their 3-0 win over Valencia, in which Rodrigo Moreno had an opener ruled out.

The French coach faced fresh questions about Real's apparent fortune against Sociedad.

"It annoys me that at the end of the day people are only talking about the referees as if we did nothing out on the pitch," he told a virtual news conference.

"But we cannot control what people will say. We win matches on the pitch and that's what we did today. It was a deserved victory."

Real moved level with Barcelona on 65 points after 30 games but climbed above the Catalans, who were held 0-0 at Sevilla on Friday, due to a superior head-to-head record.

Sociedad are sixth on 47 points.

REUTERS