As Bengoetxea moved to calm the situation by stating “We’re going to check it” before consulting the VAR room, Pedri pressed his case further: “Yes, it is a handball. Cucho makes a deliberate movement to bring the ball under control with his hand.”
The referee stood by his on-field call by responding “For me, he has it in a natural position”, prompting Fermin Lopez, Karim Adeyemi and Rodri to join the appeals as the latter insisted: “It’s very clear.”
With Pedri continuing to demand that the goal be chalked off, Bellerin walked over to the official to offer a cheeky defence of his team-mate’s finish: “Just for the sake of the goal he scored, it should be allowed to stand. For the sake of football.”
Unfortunately for Betis, VAR ultimately disallowed the strike. After the restart, Gabriel Jesus converted a Yamal cross to make it 3-1, and although Abde Ezzalzouli briefly reduced the deficit, Facundo Bernal was sent off moments later for moving his head towards Yamal before substitute Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo sealed a 5-2 victory.