Penalty storm at the Bernabeu still echoes, almost 24 hours later
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Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 17.09.25. | 19:29
De Zerbi calls it a disgrace, Benatia relives his Juventus nightmare
Marseille have only themselves to blame. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Olympique's fate was sealed not by Real Madrid's brilliance, but by their own shortcomings. Poor Geronimo Rulli was left to face a storm: ten saves in the first half alone just to keep his team alive. And when Dani Carvajal saw red in the 72nd minute, OM's outfield players looked just as lost with a man advantage.
In the end, the bitterness comes not from the defeat itself, but from how it happened: a 2-1 loss decided by two Kylian Mbappe penalties. Both from the spot, yes, but the second - in the 81st minute - was judged harshly, even by Spanish media.
Vinicius surged forward, Facundo Medina slid in cleanly to block the ball with his foot, and it ricocheted awkwardly onto his trailing arm as he fell. Referee Irfan Peljto pointed to the spot. Cruel, many admitted.
"From my point of view this was not a good decision. The arm position was natural. The player is falling, his hand doesn't go to the ball," said former referee Alfonso Perez Burrull to Marca.
On Movistar, Mateu Lahoz was even more straightforward: "The defender did what he had to do. He blocked with his foot, used his arm for balance. That's a natural position, never a penalty. Clear and obvious. Defenders would be injured constantly if they weren't allowed to use arms to support their body when sliding."
Are Real Madrid the Liverpool of Europe?
— EPL Bible (@EPLBible) September 17, 2025
How on earth is that a penalty. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cQ4EImGa0g
Only Iturralde Gonzalez struck a more cautious note, telling AS that in his view it wasn't a penalty, though he could "understand" why it was given.
And what of Marseille? Coach Roberto De Zerbi didn't mince words:
"The penalty is almost a disgrace. I'd say the same even if it was in my team's favor. This was not a penalty. And no, I don't think it was some sort of compensation for the red card."
De Zerbi even admitted that, in his opinion, Carvajal's dismissal was harsh:
"I wouldn't have sent him off. It was clear Rulli exaggerated after the clash."
How do you give a penalty when the player is on the floor and the ball has hit his supporting arm? That's one of the worst penalty decisions I've seen in my life, surely.
— Premiumerza (@PREMIUMERZA) September 16, 2025
Real Madrid are the biggest criminal in the history of this sport. pic.twitter.com/4ZZrqnqiJI
OM's Sporting director Mehdi Benatia was equally frustrated - and with history on his mind. He recalled 2018, when as a Juventus player he was penalized in stoppage time at the very same stadium after a challenge on Lucas Vazquez, paving the way for Cristiano Ronaldo to bury Juve's Champions League dream.
"This is the kind of penalty that's very hard to accept. But I've lived it before, seven years ago. The feeling is the same," Benatia sighed.
And who could forget Buffon's infamous outburst that night?
"I was right there, I saw everything. If you whistle that penalty in the 93rd minute you're not a man, you're a killer, an animal. Instead of a heart you've got a trash can. If you don't have the character to referee these matches, go sit in the stands and eat chips with your wife."
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo cut straight to the numbers: with Mbappe's brace from the spot, Real Madrid have now been awarded more penalties than any other club in Champions League history - 63 in total. Of course, no team has played more matches in the competition than the King of Europe, so the stat alone doesn't tell the whole story.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1
Tuesday
Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal 0-2 (0-0)
/Martinelli 72, Trossard 87/
PSV - St. Gilloise 1-3 (0-2)
/Van Bommel 90 - David 9 pen, Ait El Hadj 39, Mac Allister 81/
Benfica - Qarabag 2-3 (2-1)
/Barrenechea 6, Pavlidis 16 - Andrade 30, Duran 48, Kashchuk 86/
Juventus - Dortmund 4-4 (0-0)
/Yildiz 64, Vlahovic 68, 90+4, Kelly 90+6 - Adeyemi 52, Nmecha 65, Couto 75, Bensebaini 83 pen/
Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille 2-1 (1-1)
/Mbappe 29 pen, 81 pen - Weah 22/
Tottenham - Villarreal 1-0 (1-0)
/Luiz Junior 4 og/
Wednesday
19.45: (1.45) Olympiakos (4.40) Paphos (7.50)
19.45: (1.85) Slavia Praha (3.60) Bodo (4.30)
22.00: (4.10) Ajax (3.50) Inter (1.90)
22.00: (1.67) Bayern (4.25) Chelsea (4.85)
22.00: (1.62) Liverpool (3.90) Atl.Madrid (5.60)
22.00: (1.50) PSG (4.50) Atalanta (7.25)
Thursday
19.45: (2.80) Club Brugge (3.40) Monaco (2.50)
19.45: (3.20) Copenhagen (3.40) Leverkusen (2.25)
22.00: (2.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Galatasaray (3.40)
22.00: (1.70) Man.City (3.60) Napoli (5.30)
22.00: (3.15) Newcastle (3.50) Barcelona (2.20)
22.00: (1.08) Sporting (12.0) Kairat Almaty (25.0)
***odds are subject to change***
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