Carlo Ancelotti has defended Casemiro over his nasty-looking challenge in Real Madrid’s draw with Cadiz.
Los Blancos saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday evening when they drew at home to strugglers Cadiz.
Coronavirus-related absences didn’t help, but Real Madrid still managed more than 30 shots, and they failed to make their opportunities count.
And while there is no doubting Real Madrid’s dominance, they also got away with one early in the game.
In the 26th minute, Casemiro put in an awful-looking challenge on Ivan Alejo, lunging with both feet off the floor before planting his studs on the back of Alejo’s Achilles.
Spanish football has cracked down on challenges that put the Achilles at risk, but Casemiro still only got a yellow card.
Non-Real Madrid fans watching on couldn’t believe what they were seeing, especially given the standard set on this kind of challenge over recent seasons.
New week and Casemiro ducks another red card, what’s new? pic.twitter.com/kHhORzmscS
— Hashimi (@HashimiATM) December 19, 2021
But Los Blancos boss Ancelotti has still defended his midfielder.
“It was a foul to avoid a counter attack and I think that the yellow is fair,” said the Real Madrid boss after the game, as cited by Mundo Deportivo.
“The red would have been exaggerated.”
I respected Ancelotti as a player, but not as a coach… He lost that UCL final in Istanbul which puts him in my top 3 idiots in world soccer, and he’s never won anything of importance anywhere else he’s coached except in Madrid where the unconditional support the team of the system gets game in game out makes the difference… the same as Zidane… Plus he accepted to lick where Perez spat the first time … disgusting….