Ancelotti rules Bellingham out of England duty as Los Blancos thrash Valencia

Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's 5-1 rout of Valencia as their best performance of the season, while also ruling Jude Bellingham out of England duty.

Dani Carvajal's early strike was followed up with braces by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to help Los Blancos move back within two points of surprise leaders Girona.

Hugo Duro's late consolation did not take the shine off an enjoyable night for Ancelotti, who was delighted by his side's efforts.

The Italian said: "Was it our best performance? Yes. 

"Valencia haven't shown their best because we played a very good game, the first 15 minutes we could have defended better but from there the game was perfect.

"Vinicius and Rodrygo both did very well, as part of the wider team who all played very well. 

"I don't like to assess on an individual level but as a team they did a splendid job."

Ancelotti will have been all the more pleased with the one-sided success given the absence of star man Bellingham, who dislocated his shoulder last week.

And though the 20-year-old is still set to link up with Gareth Southgate's Three Lions next week, his club boss expects him to make a swift return to Spain.

The tactician, 63, said: "Bellingham will go, yes, to be evaluated and he'll come back after that, because he hasn't played today. 

"He is doing specific work to strengthen his shoulder over the next few weeks but he will be back to playing after that."

Since joining Madrid from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £88.5million in June, Bellingham has made an outstanding start to life in Spain.

His 13 goals in 14 appearances across LaLiga and the Champions League have seen him shatter no end of records, while he also grabbed two assists for his country last month against Italy.

However, the Bernabeu favourite looks set to join Tottenham midfielder James Maddison and Newcastle striker Callum Wilson as an injury absentee for England's double header with Malta and North Macedonia.