Carlo Ancelotti responds after Vinicius Junior slammed by Real Madrid teammates in Leganes win | OneFootball

Carlo Ancelotti has admitted the opinion of senior players like Luka Modric must be respected after the Croatian veteran was among the Real Madrid players to criticise Vinicius Junior during Wednesday's victory over Leganes.

Ancelotti opted for a rotated side for Wednesday's Copa del Rey clash but turned to Vinicius off the bench at half-time, shortly before Leganes equalised to make it 2-2. While they ultimately won the game in stoppage time, tensions were high throughout the second half and Vinicius found himself on the receiving end of some choice words from Modric.

As Madrid prepared to defend a corner, Modric could be seen scolding Vinicius for what is alleged to have been a lack of defensive effort. The Brazilian gestured back to a clearly furious Modric and was then targeted by Federico Valverde for his response.

After the match, Ancelotti was asked about the incident, and while he claimed not to know what had happened, he happily sided with the experienced Modric.

"I don't know if he said anything to him, but if he did, Modric must always be respected," Ancelotti told the media.

Modric himself was keen to play down the incident, insisting it was simply a natural event in a typical game.

"These are things that happen in football," he said. "You see everything that you shouldn't see."