Vinicius Jr and Diego Simeone have to be separated by players and staff in heated Madrid derby

VINICIUS JR and Diego Simeone had to be separated following a heated Madrid derby.

Atletico and Real locked horns at the Wandametroplitano Stadium on Thursday night in the last-16 of the Copa Del Rey.

GettyVinicus Jr and Diego Simeone exchanged words during the Madrid derby[/caption]

SSC SPORTSThe pair had to be separated from one another[/caption]

SSC SPORTSVinicius Jr trudged off the pitch shortly after the incident[/caption]

Simeone’s troops dumped the 20-time tournament winners out of the competition thanks to two extra-time strikes.

And tensions boiled over at the final whistle, with scores of players and staff separating Vinicius Jr and Simeone.

The incident seemed to stem from an exchange the pair had during the match, in which Vinicius gestured “seven” to the Atletico chief with his hands.

Simeone responded with the same gesture but also appeared to shout something back at the Brazilian.

The Argentine was, understandably, quizzed about the incident in the aftermath of the pulsating derby but played down their angry viral exchanges.

He said: “With Vinicius? There’s nothing to comment on. These are things that happen on the pitch.”

Atletico ran out 4-2 winners thanks to goals from Samuel Lino, Alvaro Morata, Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said of the defeat: “We played a complete, even, hard-fought game against a strong opponent.

GETTYDiego Simeone downplayed his heated interactions with Vinicus Jr[/caption]

“We left with a good feeling, but we’re not happy.

“We tried in every way. It was a good game from us and also from Atleti.”

He added: “Sometimes when you have the game under control, you don’t need to force the play.

“We have young people with extraordinary quality, who try. [But] there are times in games when forcing the play isn’t necessary.

“We lost because we took risks in an unnecessary play. The loss has punished us.”

Atletico’s reward for their derby victory is a home tie with Sevilla next Wednesday.