BARCELONA, Sept 27: Real Madrid had good reason to approve of the video assistant referee. A handball that had gone unnoticed on the field was spotted by the VAR near the end of Madrid�s match at Real Betis on Saturday, sending Sergio Ramos to the spot to convert an 82nd-minute penalty and take a 3-2 victory in Seville.
The review revealed that Betis defender Marc Bartra hit the ball with his arm during a brush with Madrid substitute Borja Mayoral in the area. It seemed that Mayoral�s attempt to kick the ball pushed Bartra�s arm into the ball. Manuel Pellegrini, Betis� new coach and former Madrid manager, said he had no problem with the refereeing. Madrid played with an extra man from the 67th when Betis defender Emerson was red-carded for fouling Luka Jovic with only the goalkeeper to beat. The referee�s decision was also aided by video.
Karim Benzema, the heart of Madrid�s title run last season, set up Federico Valverde for the 14th-minute opener, and pressured Emerson into scoring an own goal while trying to defend a dangerous cross to the French striker to make it 2-2. Benzema also had a strike that hit the crossbar and almost crossed the goal-line.
�The important thing is our mentality. We came out of halftime motivated to take control of the game,� Ramos said. �We should learn from this. We can�t always fight back.�
Aissa Mandi and William Carvalho scored for a Betis that won its first two matches under Pellegrini. Midfielder Sergio Canales provided key passes in both Betis goals.
�We take away the feeling that we are doing things correctly,� Pellegrini said.
�We created more chances than they did in the first half. (But) Real Madrid can score at any moment.�
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla all open their league campaigns on Sunday after having their first two rounds postponed for playing in European competition in August.
In a surprise move, Zinedine Zidane gave a rare start to little used Jovic, the striker who scored only twice in limited minutes last season after transferring from Eintracht.
Zidane may send him back to the bench after a subdued performance that featured only his race towards the area once launched on the counterattack by Benzema that ended in the red-card foul by Emerson.
Valencia was fortunate against newly promoted Huesca to salvage 1-1 at home. � AP