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Kasper Schmeichel: Celtic star gets ‘paradox’ verdict after costly Denmark mistake as keeper hits out at VAR
The goalkeeper admitted his error but pointed the finger at the officials after the controversial goal
KASPER SCHMEICHEL has quickly become a Celtic hero after a strong start to life as Hoops No1.
But it proved a night of mixed fortunes for the former Leicester stopper on international duty.
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Schmeichel, 37, was snapped up by Celtic on a free transfer this summer following a season at Anderlecht.
The English Premier League winner arrived as a replacement for Joe Hart, who retired at the end of last season.
And Schmeichel has certainly hit the ground running on Scottish football.
He shattered a long standing record with six consecutive Premiership clean sheets to start the season, with the Hoops enjoying a 100 per-cent domestic record so far.
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Alongside his club duties, Schmeichel remains Denmark's No1.
With 108 caps to his name, he's one of his country's most capped players in history.
As usual, he was between the sticks last night as the Danes took on Spain in their latest Nations League clash.
With wins from their opening two matches, Denmark were in a confident mood in Murcia.
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And with good reason too as for much of the night, they looked on course for a well earned point.
Schmeichel in particular looked in inspired form.
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He pulled off a series of superb saves to keep the Spaniards out.
Unfortunately, the Celtic stopper would play a major role in what turned out to be Spain's winner.
It wasn't a goal without controversy, however.
With just 11 minutes left, the ball broke to Euro 2024 hero Martin Zubimendi on the edge of the area.
The Real Sociedad star chanced his luck with a first time effort on the volley.
He didn't catch it as sweetly as he hoped, but the ball deflected off of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg before bouncing twice on its way to goal.
After the second bounce, the ball squirmed under Schmeichel who looked to have his whole body behind it and found the back of the net.
Despite the nick off of former Tottenham man Hojbjerg, it's undoubtedly an effort Schmeichel will feel he should have kept out.
And that, too, was the general assessment of the goalkeeper's performance after the match.
Danish outlet Bold hailed Schmeichel for an "almost flawless performance."
However, they conceded that "he looked poor" for the goal "that the seasoned keeper should have taken."
Other outlets hailed Schmeichel for his huge saves, including a "classy" stop from Alvaro Morata.
Tipsbladet added that "he was slow to get down" for the Zubimendi goal.
Schmeichel himself spoke after the game, and admitted: "It's one of them."
He revealed he couldn't see the ball at first and as a result, had to gamble on where the shot was heading.
Ultimately, that proved costly.
Schmeichel said: "It's one of them.
"I can't see it at first, so I gamble a bit on it going in one direction, therefore not being able to read the screw on the ball and getting too high above it."
He added: "It's the lot as a goalkeeper. That's how it is. It is known that it is the smallest margins that determine whether you have had a good match or a bad match."
The keeper was left angered that the goal was allowed to stand.
He felt there was a clear foul on defender Victor Nelsson immediately before the goal.
It was the Danish centre-back's header that fell to Zubimendi on the edge of the area.
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However, Nelsson felt he was fouled by Mikel Merino, who seemed to barge into him as he went up to head the ball.
Schmeichel was especially adamant there was a foul, placing the ball on the spot where the collision occurred, expecting a free kick to be forthcoming.
Indeed, there was a lengthy VAR review following the goal.
However, the decision did NOT go Denmark's way as the video referee cleared the goal and stuck with the on-field decision of no foul.
Schmeichel was not at all happy about the decision.
He said: "Shortly before, the referee gives a free kick to Victor Nelsson in an identical situation, so I don't understand why there was no free kick in connection with the goal.
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"I don't think the referee was kind to us today."
Next up, Denmark and Schmeichel travel to take on Switzerland on Tuesday.
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