Ancelotti defends refs as Bellingham steals show in comeback win

Carlo Ancelotti insists the officials got controversial VAR calls right during Real Madrid's dramatic 3-2 win over Almeria. 

Jude Bellingham inspired Los Blancos as they came from two goals down but their opponents may feel hard done by.

The English midfielder, 20, scored a debatable penalty after VAR deemed the ball had brushed the arm of Kaiky — it appeared that Antonio Rudiger committed a foul in the build-up.

Vinicius Junior made it 2-2 with another controversial goal as he appeared to use his arm to help control the ball.

However, Ancelotti thought every decision was correct. 

He said: "I understand Almeria's complaints. 

"They were decisions reviewed by VAR, but there were three quite simple decisions.

"I think the right decisions were made. Everyone has their own opinion. I say what I've seen. 

"Almeria played very well, but if you look at the three decisions, they were correct. I'm ready to hear that we won because of VAR."

Bellingham stole the show again as the catalyst for Madrid's comeback, which saw them move two points clear at the top of LaLiga ahead of Girona's later kick-off.

He tucked away a penalty in the 57th minute and headed across for Dani Carvajal to score a late winner.

Bellingham also almost scored a sensational overhead kick with the scores level but his effort was just wide.

Ancelotti admitted the first half was a poor display from his side but was thrilled with the reaction after the break. 

He said: "It was a strange game. We had a bad first half, lacking energy.

"The assessment I made after yesterday's training session was wrong. The team was tired and we performed very badly.

"Then the team's character and the support of the fans helped us to come back from a very difficult game and put in a completely different second half."