Carlo Ancelotti, the head coach of Real Madrid, expressed his disagreement with the red card given to Vinícius Jr during their match against Valencia. In the post-match press conference, Ancelotti argued that the incident should have resulted in two yellow cards—one for Vinícius Jr and one for Valencia’s goalkeeper Dimitrievski.
“We believe it wasn’t a red card offense,” Ancelotti stated. “It should have been two yellows. Dimitrievski made contact first, and Vinícius Jr reacted. We will appeal the decision.”
Ancelotti also commended his team’s resilience in overcoming multiple setbacks, including the red card, a missed penalty, and a disallowed goal. “It’s difficult to explain why we struggled in the first half but responded so well in the second half, even with just 10 men. We cannot afford such contrasting performances.”
Regarding the final result, Ancelotti described it as “fair and deserved,” highlighting the team’s improved performance after halftime. “The first half was very poor, lacking balance. Valencia started stronger.”
The coach also addressed the team’s ongoing penalty struggles this season. “We’ve missed three penalties so far, and I take full responsibility for choosing who takes them in the future.”
Ancelotti further explained that Jude Bellingham’s penalty wasn’t retaken because Dimitrievski hadn’t touched the ball, despite both of his feet being off the line.
