Inaki Pena denies Bellingham with insane save

news banner image

Real Madrid came out rampant in the Clasico in search of the early lead, trying to take advantage of Barcelona's advanced defence, and were denied by Inaki Pena's incredible save from Jude Bellingham.

3 weeks ago
Hansi Flick copied the approach he took against Bayern Munich in the Clasico. The same players and the same aggressiveness in the positioning of their defensive line, which was practically planted in the midfield at the Santiago Bernabeu. A risk that Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius and company could take advantage of with their speed.
The Frenchman had a great chance right at the start of the game which he fired into the side netting when he was one-on-one, although Sanchez Martinez ended up flagging for offside at the start of the action. The same was true of Real Madrid's clearest chance of the game so far, with Inaki Pena dressing up as Iker Casillas in his best years.
After a ball behind the defence, Kylian Mbappe sent a low cross to the far post, where Jude Bellingham appeared. The Englishman dived to meet the ball and when Inaki Pena looked to have beaten him, the keeper pulled a miraculous hand just over the line. It missed the target by a very, very few centimetres.
As happened on several occasions, the play was subsequently disallowed for offside at the start. The replay left a lot of doubt, so had it gone in, the VAR would have had to decide whether the goal was awarded or disallowed. As Inaki Pena saved Barcelona's goal, the offside was anecdotal.

Comments