Real Madrid survive, top La Liga table with comeback victory over winless Almería
Real Madrid defeated Almería on Sunday thanks to an incredible second half comeback.
With a push to the top of the La Liga table on the line, Madrid were down two goals to none at the half against the club at the very bottom of the league.
Almería, a team still looking for its first La Liga win of the season, bookended the first half with first-minute and 43rd-minute goals.
Largie Ramazani converted the first shot of the match just 38 seconds into the contest, and center back Edgar González ripped an incredible shot from well outside of the penalty box to put Almería up, 2-0.
Edgar González! What a strike!
Real Madrid 0-2 Almería | 🅰️ https://t.co/HZ0zHayWD1— FootColic ⚽️ (@FootColic) January 21, 2024
The second half was almost all Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham (P), Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal scored goals in the 57th, 67th and 90+9th minutes, respectively. Carvajal's goal to put Madrid in front in the final moments of stoppage time – with a nice assist from Bellingham – threw Santiago Bernabéu Stadium into a state of pandemonium.
CARVAJAL WITH A MASSIVE GOAL!!!
THE SCENES!!! https://t.co/JXZdiKwzDR— TC (@totalcristiano) January 21, 2024
European soccer: Sheffield United scores latest Premier League goal on record to salvage 2-2 draw with West Ham
Real Madrid vs. Almería controversial VAR calls
Madrid's win wasn't without its fair share of controversy, most of which stemmed from a couple of crucial VAR decisions.
First, the penalty awarded to Bellingham was a result of a VAR review after a contested ball hit Kaiky's arm in the penalty box.
📺💥 El VAR se inventa un penalti en el Real Madrid - Almería.
👉🏻 Rudiger se apoya de forma descarada en Edgar para intentar disputar el balón.
❌ ES FALTA EN ATAQUE.
▪️ La falta en ataque es previa al posible penalti. Grave error de Hernández Hernández, desde el VAR. pic.twitter.com/o4QJ8EJxNJ— Archivo VAR (@ArchivoVAR) January 21, 2024
Minutes later, Almería had a goal disallowed in the 61st minute after VAR determined that a yellow card foul should have been called earlier in the play.
Arribas Goal https://t.co/YZfVIqQbIM
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 (@_MadridTimes) January 21, 2024
Only a few minutes after that, Junior's goal for Madrid was upheld by VAR despite evidence it may have been a handball.
¡Empate de Vinicius!
El árbitro lo había anulado por mano, pero tras recurrir al VAR concedió el gol al Madrid. 😬 pic.twitter.com/WLAAQTvL0s— ESPN Deportes (@ESPNDeportes) January 21, 2024
Lionel Messi: Argentine star and Inter Miami begin their preseason with a 0-0 draw against El Salvador
La Liga table
Here's how the La Liga table looks after Real Madrid's win and before Girona plays Sevilla on Sunday.
Position | Team | Matches Played | Win | Draw | Loss | Goal differential | Points |
1 | Real Madrid | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 51 |
2 | Girona | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 49 |
3 | Barcelona* | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 44 |
4 | Athletic Club | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 41 |
5 | Atlético Madrid | 19 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 38 |
6 | Real Sociedad | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 35 |
7 | Valencia | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 32 |
8 | Las Palmas | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 31 |
9 | Real Betis* | 21 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 31 |
10 | Getafe | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | -2 | 26 |
11 | Osasuna | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | -6 | 25 |
12 | Alavés | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | -8 | 23 |
13 | Rayo Vallecano | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | -8 | 23 |
14 | Villarreal | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -14 | 20 |
15 | Mallorca | 21 | 3 | 11 | 7 | -6 | 20 |
16 | Celta Vigo | 21 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -10 | 17 |
17 | Sevilla | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -5 | 16 |
18 | Cádiz | 21 | 2 | 9 | 10 | -16 | 15 |
19 | Granada | 20 | 2 | 5 | 13 | -19 | 11 |
20 | Almería | 21 | 0 | 6 | 15 | -25 | 6 |
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Real Madrid atop La Liga table after controversial comeback victory
