The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Javier Hernandez warned Carlo Ancelotti that “a benched player is not a happy player” after Real Madrid the manager replaced the in-form striker with Gareth Bale.
The Mexican striker has shone in recent weeks, scoring the winning goal in the Madrid derby that took Real into the Champions League semi-finals against Juventus.
However Ancelotti’s decision to drop Hernandez backfired, with Bale drawing criticism for an anonymous performance and Hernandez unable to change the course of the game after his introduction on the hour.
The Manchester United loanee, who has the best minutes to goal ratio of any of Louis van Gaal’s strikers, told TVE: “You have to respect all decisions, even being benched. I must stay professional. I'll always be... Look, a benched player is not a happy player.”
Despite the 2-1 defeat in the Juventus Stadium Hernandez is confident that Madrid can turn the deficit around in the Bernabeau.
Juventus vs Real Madrid - player ratings
"The mood is negative as we lost, but we fought until the end," the 26-year-old said. "We just have to win 1-0 and we'd be through to the final. We have to take it on the chin and learn from this for the second leg.
"The coach asked us to play with the same attitude we're showing in La Liga. But it's a game of two teams, and they had the home advantage and plenty of additional motivation to win.”
