Lockdown hangover: Goalkeeper forgets penalty area as he's sent off for catching ball outside his box

Lockdown hangover: Goalkeeper forgets penalty area as he's sent off for catching ball outside his box

La Liga side Deportivo Alaves' goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco came up with arguably the howler of the weekend after he was sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty area.

It goes without saying that football will not look the same after lockdown, and for some like Pacheco, months without the beautiful game also seems to have affected his bearings.

While handling outside the box is not a rare occurrence in the game, 28-year old Pacheco's case was as funny as it was bizarre.

A video if the match against Espanyol on Saturday, June 13, exhibited just how withdrawn some of the players were in the absence of football for more than 90 days.

Pacheco ran off his penalty area and jumped onto a loose air ball, catching it gracefully as any goalkeeper would, all this taking place a few yards outside the box.

It was the most blatant handball one will see this weekend, and the referee had no choice but to give the keeper a red card.

At the time, only 18 minutes had lapsed in the game, meaning the away side had to endure a painful three quarters of the game with 10 men.

Being away and losing a goal keeper of all players is the worst scenario for any team and Alaves went on to lose the game 2-0.

Pacheco was replaced in goal by Roberto, who is himself infamous for a number of errors during his time with Westham United.

One could hardly blame Pacheco for his rustiness, however, as players are still trying to adjust playing again in "the new normal".

In Italy on Friday, Juventus advanced to the Coppa Italia final in lowly fashion after a 0-0 second leg stalemate against AC Milan.

Cristiano Ronaldo, known for his prowess on penalties, also missed a spot kick earlier in the game which had very little to report which summed up the state of play post lockdown.

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