Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti defended benching Cristiano Ronaldo for their Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo did not appear until the final ten minutes of the first-leg clash.

"Cristiano Ronaldo was tired and only played in the second half. The game was controlled until the penalty and in the last part we did not do so well. We needed to be more efficient. Until the penalty the game was under control," said Ancelotti.

"We lacked some depth in general. We played too wide. Atlético defended very well, always together and always compact. It is difficult to find a solution to that. We needed to play more vertically and with more depth."