Ancelotti dismisses suggestions of friction within his team

La Liga champions Real Madrid picked up three crucial points at Celta Vigo over the weekend in a narrow 2-1 victory. One of the highlights of the game was a moment of frustration for English midfielder Jude Bellingham when his teammate Vinicius Jr denied him a pass when he was in a better shooting position.
The midfielder’s reaction, kicking at the turf and storming off, has sparked speculations about the state of his relationship with Vinicius Jr. However Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti does not think much of it and has dismissed the speculations making rounds. He was impressed with Bellingham’s courage, stating that two players were laughing together after the final whistle. He said, “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.
“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.”
There is no indication of any further friction between the two stars as photographs of their post-game celebrations shared by Bellingham on social media suggest an air of cordiality between them. He captioned the post, “Huge effort from the team. Good start to an important week of games!” Vinicius Jr wrote a simple reply in the comments, “JB!”
French striker Kylian Mbappe, fresh from injury, put Madrid ahead in the 20th minute. The Los Blancos maintained the lead until the 51st minute when 20-year-old Williot Swedberg scored Celta Vigo’s equalizer. It fell on Vinicius Jr to score Madrid’s winner 15 minutes later in the 66th minute of the encounter.
Ancelotti was impressed with his team’s efforts and praised their resilience to earn all three points in a tough game. He said, “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 Vincius]. 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.”
Madrid are unbeaten in La Liga this season but they are three points behind rivals Barcelona who are top of the standings. Ancelotti’s men play next against Borussia in the Champions League on Tuesday.