Real Madrid's surprise elimination from the Copa del Rey on Thursday night saw questions asked of Carlo Ancelotti, not least regarding his treatment of the likes of Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale, but the Italian defended his decision.
Ancelotti's side currently sit four points clear at the top of La Liga but have found things tougher in the cup, needing extra-time to get through their last-16 game at Elche and losing to Athletic Club in the quarter-final.
Alex Berenguer was the match-winner for the Bilbao side, who lost the last two Copa del Rey finals, with Bale and Hazard remaining on the bench for the visitors throughout.
Madrid's manager was quizzed on his decisions after the game, but as talk of Kylian Mbappe's summer arrival continues to dominate discussions, he played down suggestions he was punishing any of the forwards currently at the club.
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"Punished players? I have nothing to say," Ancelotti said after the defeat, as reported by Marca.
"There are no penalized players. [Dani] Ceballos, [Jesus] Vallejo... didn't play either.
"[The forwards] are at the same level as the others who didn't play. We have to be fair".
Bale, Hazard and Luka Jovic were all left on the bench. with Ancelotti only using two of his allotted substitutions to bring on Isco and Eduardo Camavinga when the scores were still level.
Bale hasn't played a minute of first-team football for Real Madrid since August, with injuries only partly responsible, while Hazard has started just twice since the turn of the year.
Jovic, meanwhile, was linked with a January exit and reportedly offered to Arsenal before an injury to Karim Benzema prompted Madrid to keep hold of the Serbian.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt forward spent the second half of last season on loan at his old club, and has scored just once in La Liga since returning over the summer.
Ancelotti said he had been thinking about changes for extra-time before his team was caught cold by Berenguer's effort, and lamented the drop-off in quality with his team unable to call on Benzema - especially after "fatigue" forced Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos to make way during the second half.
"We don't have players with Karim's quality. We haven't changed the plan," he explained.
Benzema is Real Madrid's top scorer this season with 24 goals, but was forced off early in the recent league draw against Elche with a hamstring problem.
The French international is expected to return in time for the Champions League last-16 clash against Paris Saint-Germain, with the first leg taking place on February 15, though Madrid also have league meetings with Granada and Villarreal before their trip to the Parc des Princes.
