Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti defended his winger Vinicius Jr. after the Brazilian was sent … [+] off during an eventual 2-1 win over Valencia in La Liga on Friday.
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Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti defended his winger Vinicius Jr. after the Brazilian was sent off during an eventual 2-1 win over Valencia in La Liga on Friday.
The visitors trailed 1-0 at half time thanks to Hugo Duro scoring inside half an hour.
Yet in the previously postponed match’s second installment, Jude Bellingham missed a penalty but made up for it with a thrilling injury time winner once Luka Modric equalized on 85 minutes.
Without a doubt, though, the most talked about incident from the action will be Vinicius’ red card picked up shortly before that for pushing Stole Dimitrievski to the Mestalla turf.
“What we think is that it was not red, it was two yellows,” Ancelotti said post match, when asked about the controversy.
“He has been sent off, but the team has reacted to this difficulty, as it reacted to the missed penalty. We are going to appeal, I don’t know if they will accept it. I haven’t said anything, I’ve congratulated the players, I told them the same thing as here.
“It was a touch before the goalkeeper and then a push. I think that with two yellows it was enough, the issue was over. I don’t mean that he has fallen into the trap. He has tried to do things well, as always, sometimes it works out and sometimes a little less. But that’s the end of it. Hopefully he can play the next game, he continues to be decisive for us,” Ancelotti added.
As for the match itself, the Italian said it was “difficult to explain how badly we did in the first half and how good we were in the second, and with one player less”.
“They are three deserved points, but we cannot show these two sides. The first half was tremendously bad, the second half was tremendously good with ten.
Ancelotti said that it “bothers me” how Madrid has missed three penalties this term, but ultimately he believes that “I have to take responsibility for choosing who is going to shoot”.
Despite Bellingham hitting the post from 12 yards out, Ancelotti commended the Englishman for a “great game”.
“He didn’t lose faith after missing the penalty, it gave him extra motivation. His last 30 minutes can only be done by him. He has made an extraordinary effort. It’s a well-deserved award for the game he played.”
Through the win, Madrid is now two points clear of second-placed crosstown rival Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, as well as five ahead of FC Barcelona.
