So did anyone see an angle on Gareth Bale's incredible goal where the Referee was seen to give an advantage signal? He got shoved at least five yards into touch by the defender who basically hip checked him, and yet he managed to both stay on his feet and beat the defender to the ball which led directly to his goal. If the referee not only let play continue but saw the foul and let play continue, that might possibly be the greatest advantage given in the history of the game.
The ref for this match (no idea who) was excellent. I've seen so many El Clasico's filled with pathetic dives, cheap off the ball contact and just general dirty play, but the ref completely owned this game, making sure everyone knew that none of that would be tolerated, and it made the game much, much more enjoyable to watch.
Play should have been stopped and Bale should have been cautioned for leaving the pitch without permission.
He was the boss! Made the game so much more entertaining to watch than the previous garbage-filled Clasicos.
Fwiw In September 2010 Jose Mourinho offered praise towards Antonio Mateu Lahoz for the way the referee allowed play to flow in Real Madrid's 2-1 victory away to Real Sociedad: "It felt like an English game. I wish he could referee every Real Madrid match." Later, in February 2011, R.Madrid won away to Espanyol 1-0 despite having Iker Casillas sent off after only two minutes. Mourinho after the game: "I don't know if it was a red card or not - I haven't seen it. But I like Mateu - he is a great referee and he lets the game flow. Referees can make mistakes, but I still maintain he is a great referee." When reminded of his assessment after the R.Sociedad match Mourinho didn't hesitate: "I stand by that. I like him because he doesn't have any time for diving artists and in my team there are no diving artists. I would still like to see Mateu Lahoz in every game. Maybe he made a mistake with the red card or the possible penalty. But he's a great referee with a philosophy that I like very much, and has a great success rate in matches."
Great advantage. I've been going out of my way to hesitate before giving fouls this season, and I still think I would have whistled too soon here. I never actually saw the advantage signal, but I think we can safely assume it was given, as there's no way the referee would have thought "no foul" there. The commentators noted the advantage right away as play continued, and I believe they could see the entire field without use of the TV cameras, based on something they said earlier in the match. That said, I would have also cautioned Bartra, as the foul appeared tactical in nature. Bartra was immediately subbed off after the goal, so perhaps that was taken into consideration when not issuing the card.
What about his recovery? Minute 85, and the ref recovers to about 15 yds behind play by the time the goal is scored AND he's getting wide to see the play better! Awesome.