Real Madrid: Barca great Puyol hits out at refereeing in Betis win

After Real Madrid benefited from key refereeing decisions at Real Betis, Carles Puyol tweeted that Barcelona "will have to perform very well" to beat their arch rivals to the LaLiga title.

Barcelona legend Carles Puyol says the Blaugrana will have to be at their best this season if they are to win LaLiga ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid, in social-media comments that indicate he feels Los Blancos are receiving favourable treatment from match officials.

Puyol: "We're going to have to perform very well..."

Taking to Twitter after Madrid benefited from crucial refereeing calls to beat Real Betis 3-2 in the Spanish top flight on Saturday, Puyol wrote: “We’re going to have to perform very well if we want to win [the league, but] I have faith, and this should serve as a challenge and a source of motivation for the team.”

Betis reduced to 10 men, Real Madrid get penalty as VAR intervenes

With the scores level at 2-2 at the Benito Villamarín, Betis defender Emerson was sent off in the 67th minute for bringing down Luka Jovic when the Madrid striker was through on goal, after referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea was told by video assistant José Luis González González to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

De Burgos Bengoetxea had initially deemed Jovic to be offside in the lead-up to the incident - a decision that would have meant no action being taken for Emerson’s subsequent challenge on the Serbian - but this tight call was reversed in Madrid’s favour by González González.

15 minutes later, Sergio Ramos scored the visitors’ winning goal from the spot when Betis centre-back Marc Bartra was adjudged to have handled in the box. The penalty award also came after De Burgos Bengoetxea re-watched the incident on the advice of VAR, and prompted bitter protests from the home team.

Puyol reacts to Emerson, Bartra calls with emoji tweets

Puyol reacted to Emerson’s dismissal by posting a message consisting of two monkey-covering-its-eyes emojis, then responded to the Bartra decision by tweeting two thoughtful-expression emojis, alongside another depicting a face with its mouth covered up.