Courtesy: Google/X
Kylian Mbappe, the French forward, got a red card for the first-time in his Real Madrid career for his horrible challenge on Antonio Blanco of Alaves during a La Liga clash at the Mendizorroza, which his team ended up winning 1-0 with an Eduardo Camavinga goal. Following his arrival at Real Madrid last summer, the red card is a rare blemish on the record of Kylian Mbappe, who has been in sensational goal-scoring form for the club recently after a slow start.
Notably, after the referee Cesar Soto Grado initially gave the 26-year-old a yellow card for going high on Antonio Blanco’s shin with his studs up, the video assistant referee (VAR) invited the referee to watch the incident on the monitor pitchside before he decided to upgrade it to a red card. Kylian Mbappe’s sending off came just four minutes after Eduardo Camavinga gave Real Madrid the early lead against hosts Alaves with a curling left-footed strike just outside the penalty area.
Watch the video of Kylian Mbappe's horrible challenge:
Below is the referee showing red card to Kylian Mbappe after VAR intervention:
Carlo Ancelotti didn't give start to Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham with UCL quarter-finals second leg in sight
In the same La Liga match, Alaves, who were looking to get an equaliser against the 10-men Real Madrid, also went a player down when Manu Sanchez challenged Vinicius Jr high on his leg in the 70th minute. It took a whopping six big saves from Thibaut Courtois in goal for Real Madrid, which allowed the Galacticos to register a 1-0 win, and finding themselves just four points adrift of Barcelona at the top of La Liga standings.
The Real Madrid head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, didn’t give a start to Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham with an eye on the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals second leg next week against Arsenal at the Santiago Bernabeu after going down 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium just a few days ago. Although when these two players were introduced in the second half, they didn’t impact the match much especially with Alaves playing on the front foot for the most of it.
