Bordalás: “The penalty hindered us, but it is no excuse”

Valencia manager Jose Bordalas spoke to the media after his side’s heavy 4 - 1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Among the topics discussed were Real Madrid’s controversial penalty incident in the first half, as well as his team’s own disappointing performance.

“I didn’t see it clearly from the touchline but at halftime I was able to see it and it is not a penalty,” Bordalas said. “It is a non-existent penalty. I understand that the referee might interpret that it is a penalty from his view on the pitch, but VAR is there a reason: To see that move and correct it, as has happened in many games. It is not a penalty, Alderete wins the duel with Casemiro. Casemiro hits him. He is clever, he lets himself go down, and the referee gives a penalty.

“I have already commented on the move. It was not a penalty. Real Madrid are a great team, and they got ahead just before the break and sent us into halftime 1-0 down. That hinders things, but it is not an excuse. I’m not happy. The team were very fragile and very vulnerable. The second goal was very easy for the opposition; there were many Valencia CF players around and incomprehensibly they got into the six yard box. The third came from a turnover, and when it was 3-1 we were pushing forward and Benzema is lethal in the area. We have to be smart in risky areas. We lost in a resounding way and we made things very easy for a result like tonight. I am not happy.”

Believe it or not, Bordalas spoke a lot more about the penalty beyond this, which we won’t include all here. He also spoke about his team’s bad defense.

“I’m not happy with the second half,” Bordalas said. “The team has been very fragile, very vulnerable. In the 2-0 and 3-0, Madrid entered our defense very easily and the fourth was when the team was already overturned looking for our second goal.”