Ancelotti Blasts Referees After Surprise Penalty Call In Villareal Defeat

• Carlo Ancelotti feels both penalties awarded in Real Madrid’s shock defeat to Villareal were not supposed to be given
• Karim Benzema and Gerard Moreno both scored from the spot in the tense La Liga match after penalties were awarded for handball in the box
• Real Madrid missed the chance to move above Barcelona at the top of La Liga table, as they slipped to just a second league defeat of the season

Carlo Ancelotti is not pleased with the referee’s decision to award two penalties in Real Madrid’s surprise 2-1 defeat to Villareal on Saturday, January 7.

Los Blancos suffered their second loss of the season following a 2-1 defeat to the Yellow Submarines at the Estadio de la Ceramica but Ancelotti was more concerned by the penalties awarded.

Centre referee Cesar Soto Grado made two big calls after he awarded both sides a penalty each for handball in the box and Ancelotti believes both calls did not have strong merit to be given, Football Espana reports.

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“When there is a handball in the area, it’s a penalty. If it were up to me… it’s neither one, nor the other.”

Real Madrid remains second behind Barcelona on the La Liga table after the loss with 38 points having played a game more than their title rivals.

Ancelotti makes honest admission after Villareal loss

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has blamed Real Madrid’s poor defending for their shock loss to Villareal which dampened his team’s chances in the La Liga title race, Marca reports.

The veteran Italian coach admitted Real Madrid made mistakes at the start of the game which made getting back not easy for the reigning La Liga champions.

Real Madrid will next be flying to Saudi Arabia for their Spanish Supercopa semi-final clash against Valencia in midweek.

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Ancelotti sends message to Real Madrid star

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Carlo Ancelotti was not too impressed with Eduardo Camavinga’s performance in Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory against Real Valladolid on Friday night.

Camavinga was a 69th-minute substitute for Real Madrid as the French midfielder replaced Dani Ceballos as Los Blancos pushed for a win with the game goalless.

Ancelotti has now advised the Real Madrid youngster to improve his positional awareness while out of possession.