Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa talked about how his team should have received a clear penalty for a handball during their 1-1 draw with Real Betis.
Real Madrid were very close to seeing the result out after a Vinicius Jr goal gave them the lead in the first half.
However, with seconds left on the clock, Hector Bellerin scored an equaliser to deny Real Madrid three points.
After the match, Arbeloa was asked about the penalty decisions, among other refereeing 'errors' that the Spaniard went into.
Alvaro Arbeloa is focusing on the wrong conclusions after draw vs Betis
He said: “A crystal-clear penalty, with an open hand, on a shot by Brahim. There’s not much else to see, it’s very clear. And on the last one, Mendy had the position covered.
"The slightest touch on the arm… It’s very basic. It’s not the first time something like this has happened to us. These are decisions that have a huge impact on the game.”
While there is meaning to what he is saying in the press conference, does it really matter? The league is basically over either way, but Real Madrid's lack of bite in front of goal is what lost them the two extra points. They had so many chances to put the tie away in the first half, but they failed to convert them.
These sorts of refereeing decisions matter, but you can only control the way your team plays, and Arbeloa's team did not play well against Betis on Friday night.
Real Madrid had no bite in the attack, and defensively, looked like amateurs trying to defend everything reactively. That is another thing that Real Madrid have fully in their control, and yet, the only thing that fans hear about the game is the refereeing decisions and how the team was unlucky.
The team was not unlucky, at least not in terms of the kind of football they played. They could have won the game a long time before it was decided, and to flip the script, they could have also lost the game if it wasn't for a few brilliant Andriy Lunin saves. The draw is somewhere in the middle, of course, but those are the things that Arbeloa should be focusing on.
The decisions of his own players in front of goal or while defending matter more than the decisions that the referee takes in a meaningless game.
Real Madrid will lose the league title, and they will once again look for things to blame it on. The reality is that they are simply not good enough.
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