Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confessed his side did not deserve to win Saturday’s clash with Real Sociedad.

Los Blancos needed two penalties, scored by Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, to escape with all three points, having watched the hosts hit the woodwork no fewer than three times.

“It was a difficult game and we probably didn’t deserve to win because Real Sociedad played very well, but we held on, we suffered and we were committed,” Ancelotti said after the game. “The sacrifice of a team with so much quality is not always found, and today we found it.”

While there were few complaints about the award of Madrid’s first penalty – a clear handball – Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil was left livid by the decision to hand out a second spot-kick. Vinicius had already sent in a low cross when he went down following a collision with Jon Aramburu, who was later punished by VAR.

“For me there was only one penalty,” Alguacil said. “It’s a shame, if we are going to call those penalties, we are ruining real football. I don’t like it. And if they show us those cards, which for me weren’t cards… If we want everyone to enjoy this football, I think some things have to change.”

Predictably, Ancelotti did his best to distance himself from an opinion on the incident.

“I haven’t seen it because I’ve only seen the image, but when the referee goes to the VAR, he does much better and he hasn’t hesitated to blow the whistle,” Ancelotti said.

READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP