I don’t Think his reason is genuine enough: Ex-Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti explains why he was angry with Barcelona coach during El Clasico

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday night, with Carlo Ancelotti confronting Hansi Flick on the touchline during the second half

Carlo Ancelotti has shed light on his heated exchange with Hansi Flick during Saturday night’s El Clasico. Real Madrid suffered a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Barcelona, leaving them six points behind their rivals, who lead La Liga.

The scores were level at halftime before Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring early in the second half with two goals inside three minutes. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha doubled that advantage before the game ended.

After the fourth goal, Ancelotti approached Flick and pointed his finger while exchanging words. However, the Madrid manager acknowledged afterwards that he was taking issue with how one of the Barcelona coaches behaved rather than with Flick himself.

“I didn’t argue with Hansi Flick; I got angry with one of his staff,” Ancelotti clarified during his post-match media duties. “He made gestures towards our bench; he didn’t act like a gentleman.”

Flick also played down the incident. “I haven’t seen it. I’ve spoken to him, but it’s a normal situation. We celebrated the goal. We’re adults enough to talk about this.”

Ancelotti also defended Kylian Mbappe, who was caught offside seven times during the match, leading to the referee disallowing two Madrid goals. “It was known that they use the high line, and we almost didn’t take advantage of it,” the former Everton manager said.

“He had chances, and sometimes he was offside. But we had three or four opportunities where they needed more success. I don’t regret our approach. We did have opportunities.

“It’s a tough moment, as always, when you lose. And even more so when you do it after so many games unbeaten.”

Ancelotti added: “We don’t have to throw everything in the trash. We have to forget the last 30 minutes. It does not reflect what happened on the field.

“We couldn’t get ahead on the scoreboard, so they took advantage. Until the first goal, the game was very even, and we had more chances.”