Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti snaps at reporter who asked whether Bale and Hazard were punished

Carlo Ancelotti was in a fiery mood after he was quizzed over why Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard were left on the bench during Real Madrid's Copa Del Ray defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Los Blancos were knocked out in the quarter-final stage on Thursday evening after Alex Berenguer scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute.

Despite their struggles to score against Bilbao, Ancelotti decided not to turn to Bale or Hazard to come off the bench and make a decisive impact.

Following the game, a Spanish reporter asked whether Bale, Hazard and striker Luka Jovic were unused substitutes during the game as a punishment.

In a video posted by Spanish publication AS Sport, Ancelotti responded: '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.'

For a moment it had looked like Hazard was about to be brought on after he was told by Ancelotti to prepare himself down the touchline.

But he suffered the ignominy of trudging back to the dugout in his training bib - which brought out a chuckle from Welshman Bale sitting on the bench in front of him.

The clip was revealed by Spanish TV station El Chiringuito - which has previously been heavily critical of both Hazard and Bale over their performances and commitment to life in Madrid.

Ancelotti had sent Hazard back to the bench in the 75th minute - instead opting to bring on teenager Eduardo Camavinga for Toni Kroos.

The Italian earlier brought on Isco for Vinicius though neither the Spanish midfielder or Camavinga made a difference to the game.

Bale was also an unused substitute and hasn't had the best of fortunes for Madrid - failing to play a match for them since August - with just three appearances all season.

The Welshman's contract will expire this summer and he looks certain to leave after a fractious relationship with Madrid, the fans and the media.

Hazard, who joined from Chelsea for £150m, has made 18 appearances in all competitions this season - though a lot of them have been off the bench.

The Belgian has two years left on his contract but has been strongly linked with an exit - with Newcastle mooted as a possible destination in January.