Real Madrid increase their record of penalties in their favour with a new "gift" from the referees!

Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu (4-1) and are now one point behind FC Barcelona, ​​although the controversial decisions of the referees, coincidentally always in their favour, have a lot to do with it. In the first six rounds of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25, the Merengues have benefited from five penalties, which were awarded against UD Las Palmas, Real Betis, Real Sociedad twice and, this Saturday, against the periquitos.

With this new "push", Real Madrid increases its share and remains the leader of the refereeing assistance classification of the Spanish championship, being regularly favoured with dubious, questionable or directly non-existent decisions, such as the one that took place in the duel against the Catalan team.

With the penalty awarded in the match against the white and blues, Real Madrid had five penalties in their favour in the first six matches, increasing the record of a League that, in its almost 100 years of history, had never seen such a record before. The mark is so unusual and spectacular that probably in the future only a team like the Merengues will be able to surpass it.

The chronology of a never-ending story

The first penalty of this series was awarded by referee Busquets Ferrer, who in the match played at the Gran Canaria Stadium corresponding to the third match of the championship, sanctioned the eleven-metre shot for Carlo Ancelotti's team to equalise the match. The locals had taken the lead through Alberto Moleiro, but Vinicius Jr. did not forgive Cillessen and achieved the final draw of the match.

A couple of days later, Real Betis were the victims of Alberola Rojas. Conditioned by the pressure from the Santiago Bernabéu, the central referee decreed the penalty kick when Real Madrid were winning 1-0 against the Verdiblancos with a goal from Kylian Mbappé. The French striker was in charge of scoring from the eleven steps and sentenced the match in favor of his team, who went into the international break 4 points behind FC Barcelona in the standings.

Once the international break was over, the Merengues continued the trend, this time twice. Martínez Munuera awarded two penalties against Real Sociedad that, in the end, ended up giving the three points to the Blancos. The first of them, for an alleged handball by Sergio Gómez, while the second, even more controversial, came after an involuntary stomp by Aramburu on Vinicius Jr. when putting his foot down. Both punishments were taken advantage of by Vini Jr. himself and Kylian Mbappé.

Espanyol, new victim of the 'gifts' to Madrid

Finally, the Madrid players chained their fourth consecutive match receiving a 'favor' from the referees this Saturday against Espanyol. With the game decided, Munuera Montero gave the Whites an opportunity from the eleven meters for a non-existent foul on Endrick. The Brazilian fell after a continued grab by Carlos Romero, who held him practically from the corner flag although in the replay it could be seen that the '16' was clearly knocked down outside the area, allowing Mbappé to increase his goal quota.

In the press conference after the match, the coach of the periquitos 'slammed' harshly against the referee's decision: "It was outside the area for sure. I have seen it again and when Endrick dives he has both feet outside the area. It doesn't make any difference to me, it pisses me off" In this way, the Vikings are getting closer to one point of Barça in the league table, clinging to a path that has benefited them over the years.