The first contentious moment came in the 48th minute when Mendy appeared to bring down Cucho in the Rayo penalty area, but referee Martínez Munuera ruled the foul occurred outside the area. More controversial was the 86th-minute incident when Valentín cleared the ball and then collided with Ratiu, appearing to foul him on the goal line. After an agonizing four-minute VAR review, the decision was maintained: no penalty and no red card for Valentín.
The match then featured 14 minutes of added time, reflecting the modern football trend of multiple 'games within a game' due to lengthy reviews.