Bale refuses to celebrate as Real Madrid win in latest VAR controversy

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Gareth Bale came off the bench to score a controversial winning penalty against Levante on Sunday but his refusal to celebrate suggested all may not be well again at Real Madrid.

Bale's spot-kick earned Madrid a battling and, in truth, undeserved 2-1 victory at the City of Valencia Stadium where referee Ignacio Iglesias failed to reverse his decision, despite VAR exposing a theatrical dive from Casemiro.

The absence of any delight from a stony-faced Bale was telling, as he turned and brushed off teammates' attempts to congratulate him.

This was Bale's sixth game on the bench in the eight matches since he returned from injury and it remains to be seen if his cameo will be enough to win a start against Barcelona on Wednesday, in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.

Gareth Bale (L) brushes away teammate Lucas Vazquez who tries to congratulate him at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Bale replaced Karim Benzema in the 74th minute, after the Frenchman had scored his own penalty in the first half before Roger Marti pulled Levante level.

Levante had already twice hit the post by then and Madrid will be relieved to have escaped with the points that keep them nine behind Barca, and two back on Atletico, who had earlier beaten Villarreal.

Alvaro Morata scored his first Atleti goal at the Wanda Metropolitano, toasting his smart finish by poking fun at VAR, which had twice intervened to prevent him opening his account at his new club.

Real Madrid have been among the most vocal critics of the technology in La Liga this season but Levante were the ones hard done by this time.

Santiago Solari insisted after the game that he had no issue with Gareth Bale's petulant actions. /CGTN

Cheick Doucoure's swinging right foot was wild but there was no contact to merit the leap from Casemiro. Iglesias reviewed but retained his decision.

Barcelona, whom Real now face in two Clasicos in four days, the second in the league, also at the Santiago Bernabeu, will now benefit from an extra day's rest and also a suspension for Nacho, who was sent off late on for a second yellow card.

Morata off the mark

Atletico's victory was more comfortable as Barcelona's closest challengers kept up the chase with a 2-0 win over Villarreal.

Since joining Atletico on loan from Chelsea last month, Morata has twice had goals ruled out on review so when this one finally stood, he celebrated by imitating a referee putting a finger to his ear.

Morata has scored on three occasions since joining Atletico Madrid in January, yet his strike against Villarreal is the first one that counted. /CGTN

"At last it came, and with a victory too, so I'm going home happy today," Morata said. "Until I saw all the officials in the stadium had given the goal, I didn't want to celebrate too much."

Saul Niguez added a late second for Atletico, who sustain momentum after their brilliant win over Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Source(s): AFP