Video replay a factor as Spain beat France in friendly

Spain topped France 2-0 here in a friendly match that saw a goal for the hosts disallowed and one confirmed based on video replay for the visitors.

The Spanish controlled the flow of the game throughout the first half on Tuesday, but posed no real threat to the French goal, reports Efe.

France, after an anemic first half, mounted a surge at the start of the second and took a 1-0 lead on a header by Antoine Griezmann.

The joy among the 80,000 fans at Stade de France here was short-lived, however, as the referee disallowed the goal for an offside detected in the video replay.

Spain continued to dominate possession, though the first scoring chance came only after the 67th-minute substitution of Gerard Deulofeu for Pedro.

Seconds after taking the field, Deulofeu went down in the area after an encounter with French defender Laurent Koscielny and the referee awarded a penalty.

David Silva, who came in for Isco in the 53rd minute, converted from the spot, scoring his 30th goal for Spain to put La Roja ahead 1-0.

The video replay worked in Spain's favour again in the 77th minute as the line judge was about to disallow a goal by Deulofeu -- his first for La Roja -- for an apparent offside.

The replay showed the Spanish players were onside and the goal stood.

France have won only once of their last seven matches against Spain.

--IANS

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