Jude Bellingham kicked off with teammate Vinicius Jr. for choosing to shoot rather than pass to him during Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Celta Vigo on Saturday.
He gestured furiously, kicked the turf and stormed off muttering after the wasted chance, with Los Blancos taking a 1-0 lead in the first half after a Kylian Mbappe goal.
Carlo Ancelotti later praised the England star for having the ‘balls’ and ‘character’ to rage against his teammate.
Vinicius Jr had the chance to cross for Bellingham but instead shot and missed from a tight angle and fell over – but he had beaten three men to convert the opportunity.
Madrid could have been punished for this after Williot Swedberg equalized for the hosts, but Vini atoned for his earlier profligacy with a neat winner after 66 minutes.
Jude Bellingham was annoyed by Vinicius Jr. because he decided to shoot instead of going to him
The England star kicked the grass in frustration after Vini missed from a tight angle for Madrid
Vini redeemed himself with a second-half winner to draw Real Madrid level with Barcelona
The victory took the LaLiga champions level to 24 points with Barcelona after ten games, but Barça, who are reviving under Hansi Flick, have a game in hand and will face Sevilla tonight.
Fearing that Bellingham’s feud with Vini could turn into something more serious, Ancelotti quickly allayed any concerns.
“I haven’t seen that part you’re talking about, but if it happened, it means he has balls and character, and that seems good to me.
‘To be honest, I didn’t know the play had happened. I’ll check it out. But if he has reacted… let’s keep calm, after the match they were talking and laughing. They have no problems.
‘The merit we have is that we always compete well, right up to the end.
‘We could have played better, yes, but the group was involved and knew how to suffer, because Celta also did well, with intensity.
‘We took three important points thanks to a fantastic pass from [Luka] Modrian [to Vincius].
‘For him it is something normal, because of his enormous quality. Luka always contributes, whether he is a starter or comes off the bench. He has such good quality that it is always right.’
Carlo Ancelotti was proud of Bellingham’s ‘balls’ and ‘character’ and suppressed any fears that a rift would develop between the two stars
Modric came off the bench to declare the winner, becoming Madrid’s oldest ever player at 39 years and 40 days, overtaking Ferenc Puskas.
Madrid are also on the verge of making LaLiga history. Ancelotti’s team is now unbeaten for 42 games. The record of 43 is held by Barcelona, who they play next Saturday.
