In a press conference after his team’s crushing 4-0 defeat against Barça this Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti spoke out. Contrary to what many expected from the Madrid coach, he believes his team has nothing to envy of the Catalans.
Real Madrid has just suffered a heavy defeat against FC Barcelona this Saturday. At the Santiago Bernabéu, Carlo Ancelotti’s team delivered a performance of two contrasting halves. Starting strong, Ancelotti’s players created several chances. Unfortunately, Kylian Mbappé repeatedly fell into the Catalan defenders’ offside traps, with an uncountable number of offsides. While Vinicius Junior lacked discernment at times, the Madrid team went into the break with a 0-0 score.
Ancelotti’s unexpected analysis after the defeat
Back from the dressing room, Ferland Mendy made a defensive error in positioning, allowing Barça to open the score. For the remainder of the match, Real Madrid completely lost control, eventually conceding four goals. In the post-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti explained what went wrong.
“The result doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch. They deserved to win, but it was a very tight match until the first goal. Our plan was to follow the momentum of the second half against Dortmund, and we managed to do that for 60 minutes,” Ancelotti first explained before adding: “The defence was solid in the first half. I changed [tactics] when Modrić came on because we wanted to take more risks in one-on-one situations. We were good in the first half; we need to keep going like that and forget about the last 30 minutes.”
“It’s different from the defeat against Lille”
While several Madrid fans are open about their disappointment after this defeat, which they find as bitter as the loss against Lille, the Madrid coach rejects the comparison. “I liked the first half. When they scored, we lost our energy. It’s different from the defeat against Lille. We were very poor that day. Today we were competitive. We need to learn from this loss. Self-criticism is essential. But we shouldn’t throw everything away, as our first half was good.”
Now trailing by six points, Real Madrid will need to hope for a poor run from Barça to catch up. Just as in 2022, when his team lost by the same 4-0 scoreline, Carlo Ancelotti urges all Madrid fans to keep their confidence for the rest of the season. “The last time we lost 0-4 at home to Barcelona, we went on to win La Liga and the Champions League. We won’t stop fighting.” Message received.
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