Carlo Ancelotti called the on-field spat between Real Madrid and Mallorca’s players “unnecessary” after Madrid’s 3-0 win in their Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Jude Bellingham put Madrid ahead in the 63rd minute in Jeddah before a late own goal by Mallorca defender Martin Valjent and a last-minute strike from Rodrygo Goes made sure of the team’s progression to Sunday’s final.
Both teams clashed on the field after Rodrygo’s goal, with Mallorca defender Pablo Maffeo — who had frequently sparred with Vinícius Júnior during the match — confronted by Bellingham and then substitute Raúl Asencio as Ancelotti entered the field to try to keep the peace.
“I tried to calm things down a bit with Maffeo,” Ancelotti told Movistar. “I went onto the pitch to help end the fight. The players were upset, but in the end nothing happened.”
“The fight was unnecessary,” Ancelotti added later in his post-match news conference. “The game was over. I don’t blame my players or Mallorca’s players, it was unnecessary for both teams.”
“There’s a Mallorca player [Maffeo] who we have problems with every game,” midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, who was withdrawn as a precaution after a clash of heads, told Movistar after the game.
“People got angry but the most important thing is winning. It isn’t important. We don’t want to talk about this guy because that’s what he wants.”
“I don’t know, I was focused on the end of the match,” Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate said. “I don’t know what happened, our players were angry about the two goals, I think. I was a long way away.”
Madrid will play Barcelona in Sunday’s final after they beat Athletic Club 2-0 in Wednesday’s first semifinal.
“Recently the Clásico has always been unpredictable,” Ancelotti said. “It’s hard to say what the next game will be like. It will be entertaining, there’ll be a lot of quality on the pitch …
“Right now the team is improving because Bellingham is more active, he’s combining more with Vinícius and Rodrygo.”
Bellingham — who ended Thursday’s game with some muscular discomfort — has now scored nine goals in all competitions this season.
“Jude is a phenomenal player,” Tchouameni said. “He helps us win games all the time.”
