Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos produced one of the most pathetic dives you will see this season in Los Blancos’ 2-0 victory away to Cadiz.
His theatrics were enough to also make referee Jesús Gil Manzano show Ruben Alcaraz a yellow card.
Despite Madrid being 13 points behind La Liga league leaders Barcelona ahead of this game and having an important Champions League tie against Chelsea on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti named a strong team on Saturday night.
The Italian’s side were completely dominant throughout the ninety minutes, recording 35 shots on goal.
However, they had to wait until the 72nd minute for the opener, when unlikely goalscorer Nacho Fernandez drilled a shot into the bottom corner from outside the box.
Madrid doubled their lead just four minutes later when Marco Asensio scored his second goal in as many matches, finishing off a slick move.
Ceballos’ shocking simulation
But although they were very impressive in their win, one of the most shocking bits of the match came when former Arsenal man Ceballos got Alcaraz booked with an embarrassing dive.
In the opening 30 minutes, the Spanish midfielder picks up the ball on the left side of the Nuevo Mirandilla.
He looks to jink past two Cadiz defenders, but his third touch is heavy and gets away from him.
Alcaraz steps in to dispossess him, pulling off a neat spin to manoeuvre away from Ceballos and into space.
But as he straightens his run to move the ball up the pitch, the referee calls a halt to proceedings and books the 31-year-old as Ceballos lies on the floor.
Alcaraz is visibly shocked and furious as the referee shows him a yellow card, and the replays show exactly why.
As he spins away, Ceballos collapses to the ground clutching his face.
If Alcaraz had hit him, a yellow card would be completely warranted – except there is absolutely no contact to the face whatsoever.
You can watch the footage for yourself below – hopefully, Ceballos makes a speedy recovery.
Watch: Ceballos’ appalling dive
All eyes on Tuesday
Luckily, Alcaraz did not receive a second yellow during the game, with Cadiz finishing the match with all 11 players still on the pitch.
But they were unable to upset the odds, with two late goals enough for Madrid to secure all three points.
And speaking after the game, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois issued a warning to his former side Chelsea, saying that he was not happy with Saturday night’s performance.
“We played a good game. Until the first goal we made many chances, but David Gil played a good game,” the Belgian international said, according to The Daily Mail.
“They had the chance to hold out for a draw, but we controlled the game. We were able to score more goals, but I hope we saved them for Tuesday.”
Carlo Ancelotti is another man who will be returning to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night and he, like Courtois and all Madrid fans, will also be hoping his side are more clinical in two days.
