Bellingham vs Vinicius Jr: Ancelotti responds to Real Madrid feud

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised Jude Bellingham’s “character” after his clash with Vinicius Junior on Saturday.

Bellingham fumed at his Los Blancos team-mate during their 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga, with Vinicius Jr opting to shoot rather than pass to the England international when through on goal.

After the first-half incident, Bellingham was spotted waving his hands in anger, while he subsequently kicked the turf and muttered under his breath.

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Kylian Mbappe’s 20th minute goal opened the scoring at the Estadio de Balaídos and Vinicius eventually scored the winner after Williot Swedberg’s second-half equaliser.

The result means Real Madrid are now level on points with league leaders Barcelona, although their arch-rivals crucially have a game in hand.

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What has Carlo Ancelotti said?

After the match, Ancelotti was asked about the incident and he told reporters: “I haven’t seen that play you’re talking about, but if it has happened, it means that he [Bellingham] has balls, character, and it seems good to me.

“Honestly, I didn’t realise 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.

“We took three important points thanks to a fantastic pass from [Luka] Modric [to Vinicius]. It’s something normal for him, because of his enormous quality.

“Luka always contributes, whether he is a starter or coming off the bench. He has such great quality that it always adds up.”

Despite a sublime start to life at Real Madrid last season, Bellingham is yet to score his first club goal of the 2024-25 campaign, with Mbappe’s arrival forcing the ex-Borussia Dortmund star to play in a more reserved midfield role.