Reporter Annoys Real Madrid Boss By Asking If He Is Punishing Eden Hazard And Co

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was not impressed with one journalist's choice of words following his team's Copa del Rey exit on Thursday night.

Ancelotti was already in a bad mood after seeing Real beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao.

And he became further irked when asked about his decision to leave Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale and Luka Jovic on the substitutes' bench for the duration of the match.

In the post-match press conference, which was filmed by Diario AS, a radio reporter from Marca even commented: "From the outside it seems as though they are being punished".

Ancelotti fired back: "Why are you talking about Bale, Jovic and Hazard?

"Why don't you talk about [Dani] Ceballos or [Daniel] Carvajal? They also didn't play, so are they supposed to be punished as well?

"I took my decision, but if you were honest, you would talk about Ceballos who didn't even play one minute and the others who were on the bench and didn't play. They are all at the same level."

Carlo Ancelotti was not a happy man on Thursday night

IMAGO/Ricardo Larreina

Jovic is no stranger to the bench. He has only started two matches all season, while Bale has featured just three times in total.

Hazard has received significantly more game-time than Jovic and Bale. But the former Chelsea star has still been far from a first-team regular.

The Belgian playmaker has featured for just 650 minutes in La Liga so far. By comparison, international teammate Thibaut Courtois has been trusted with more than three times that amount.