Picture Credit: Twitter
La Liga defending champions Real Madrid and their Spanish league opponents Osasuna held a moment of silence at the Santiago Bernabéu in memory of those who lost their lives in the tragedy at the Kanjuruhan stadium on the island of Java (Indonesia). The tragedy took the sporting world by storm as at least 125 were killed, and over 300 were injured.
The chaos hit a crescendo when fans invaded the pitch after Arema FC lost to arch-rivals Persebaya Surabaya leading police to fire tear gas to try and disperse them. This caused a massive stampede leading to the tragic passing of many football fans and two police officers.
The Real Madrid Twitter posted a picture of the gesture with a caption saying, “The Santiago Bernabéu held a minute’s silence before kick-off in memory of those who died in the tragedy at the Kanjuruhan stadium, on the island of Java (Indonesia).”
Talking about the match, the Los Blancos couldn’t continue their perfect nine-game record as the game ended with a 1-1 draw. Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior extended his red-hot form as he opened the scoring with a long-range attempt, but the visitors soon equalised thanks to Kike Garcia’s brilliant header from the edge of the area that looped over the Real Madrid goalkeeper Andre Lunin.
Los Blancos striker Karim Benzema then was given a golden opportunity to seal the victory after he was brought down inside the box by defender Unai Garcia, who was shown a straight red card after a VAR check. But the French striker missed the penalty spot and smashed the ball over the goalpost.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti defended his players after the draw and expressed that the team were deserving winners. He also addressed Benzema’s missed penalty deemed it as an accident. He said, "We deserved the win but we missed a penalty. It's normal, setbacks happen. This is football. Benzema has done his part, he had the penalty chance after a very good play but missed it. It's an accident that sometimes happens. We have to move forward."