VAR Corrects Gil Manzano: Penalty Awarded for Gavi Foul!

VAR intervened to alert the main referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, to review a clear foul by Eduardo Camavinga on Gavi, which led to Robert Lewandowski scoring from the penalty spot to make it 1-2.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, after overcoming Athletic Club and Real Mallorca respectively, met at the King Abdullah Sports City to compete for the Supercopa de España title in Saudi Arabia. While all eyes were on the 22 players on the pitch, a spotlight was also on the officiating team led by Gil Manzano and VAR official Javier Iglesias Villanueva.

The VAR rectified a missed call and awarded a well-deserved penalty, which could have been punished with more than just a yellow card for Camavinga’s challenge on Gavi’s knee. In real-time, Gil Manzano signaled nothing, despite Gavi appearing to be in pain after the tackle inside the penalty area. However, Iglesias Villanueva alerted him from the VAR room, prompting a review of the incident. He had no hesitation in awarding the penalty and booking the French midfielder.

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Lamine Yamal Channels His Inner Messi

Lewandowski did not miss from the spot with a powerful shot, turning the tide of a match that had shown a bitter side for Barça early on. The Catalans started strong, but were met with a stellar Thibaut Courtois in goal, who denied two efforts in the first four minutes. First, Lamine Yamal’s shot toward the far post was spectacularly saved by the Belgian keeper. Moments later, Raphinha saw his close-range header blocked almost on the goal line.

In the following minute, an isolated play from a Barcelona corner resulted in a quick counterattack by Real Madrid, which ended with Kylian Mbappé finding himself too alone to miss. The Frenchman, who scored his first goal for Madrid against Barcelona, raised concerns moments later as he went down looking troubled. After receiving treatment, he was able to continue playing normally.

Fortunately for Barça, Lamine Yamal emerged as a ‘magician’ in the 22nd minute, and after a play reminiscent of Messi, he capped it off with a goal, leveling the score at 1-1. Before the half-hour mark, Hansi Flick was forced to substitute Ronald Araujo for the injured Iñigo Martínez, who could not continue on the pitch.