Real Madrid have needed help from VAR -- a lot of help -- to avoid an embarrassing setback at home against last-placed Almeria in Spain's La Liga.
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Madrid got three favourable video reviews in the second half, then scored a winner nine minutes into added time to rally to a 3-2 win over the only team yet to win in the league this season.
The dramatic late victory on Monday (AEDT) kept Madrid one point behind Girona, who continued their surprising run for the title by routing relegation-threatened Sevilla 5-1 with a hat-trick by Artem Dovbyk.
Madrid have a game in hand on Girona.
Ukraine forward Dovbyk scored his treble by the 19th minute, with Viktor Tsygankov and Cristhian Stuani adding second-half goals for the hosts.
It was the fourth league loss in a row for Sevilla, and their sixth in seven matches to leave them in 17th place, one point above the relegation zone.
At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Dani Carvajal scored the winner from close range to send the home crowd into raptures and the Almeria players into despair.
The goal came after three separate VAR decisions allowed the hosts to stay in the game after trailing 2-0 in the first half. Madrid were awarded a penalty kick that made it 2-1, saw an Almeria goal disallowed that would have made it 3-1, and got the 2-2 equaliser after the goal had been initially disallowed by the referee.
"What can I say ... I don't have words to summarise what has happened here," Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano, who was sent off in the final minutes for complaining, said.
Almeria took a surprising two-goal lead into halftime with Largie Ramazani and Edgar Gonzalez netting after mistakes by Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez.
Jude Bellingham moved Madrid closer by converting a penalty in the 57th for his 14th league goal of the season after VAR and the referee determined there was a handball by an Almeria defender.
The visitors thought they had regained a two-goal lead when Sergio Arribas scored a 61st-minute breakaway, but a video review said there was a foul by Dion Lopy on Bellingham in the build-up.
In the 67th, Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed by the referee for handball, but VAR notified the referee again, and he said the Brazil forward used his shoulder to score.
"I understand why Almeria is upset with the VAR decisions, but I think they were all correct," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
Elsewhere, Barca moved back into third place with a 4-2 win over Real Betis, with substitute Joao Felix breaking the deadlock in the 90th minute and Ferran Torres completing his hat-trick in added time. The Catalan club remain seven points behind Madrid.
Osasuna squandered a two-goal first-half lead but earned a 3-2 victory over Getafe to go 11th, one point and place behind Getafe who haven't won in the league since December.
Australian Associated Press
