Carlo Ancelotti was unsurprisingly asked about the situation between two of his star players, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, after a very visible moment of frustration during Real Madrid’s 2-1 La Liga victory at Celta Vigo.
Real were leading thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s 20th-minute deadlock breaker when a critical decision by the Brazilian left the England international fuming.
Vinicius produced a fantastic piece of solo football to beat three opponents and advance into the Celta box, only to try and finish the move himself from a tight angle rather than play the more logical square pass to Bellingham.
The Brit’s anger was clear to anyone watching the match live, and the two exchanged words.
Adding to the incident’s potential gravitas in Real Madrid’s title challenge was Williot Swedberg’s 51st-minute equaliser, but it was Vinicius himself who saved the three points for Los Galacticos 15 minutes later with the winner.
Ancelotti admitted post-match that he understood Bellingham’s annoyance, but insisted it was now all water under the bridge.
“I haven’t seen that play you’re talking about, but if it has happened, it means that he has balls, character, and it seems good to me,” Ancelotti said.
“Honestly, I didn’t realize the play [had happened]. I’ll watch it. But if he has reacted… let’s be calm, after the game they were talking, laughing. They have no problems.
“The merit we have is that we always compete well, until the end.
“We could have played better, yes, but the group was committed and knew how to suffer, because Celta also competed well, with intensity.”