It wasn’t to be. Not because of the football and, worse still, not because of the attitude. Real Madrid sank under the weight of their own vices in an attempt at a comeback that never even got off the ground at the Bernabéu. Arsenal controlled Ancelotti’s team at all times with a superiority unbefitting of a Champions League quarter-final. The match was, at times, a carbon copy of the first leg, but with one difference: Arsenal didn’t seem to want much more. The feeling, which Atlético had already given off on several occasions in the past, was that if they pressed, they would score the goals they needed. And that’s how it turned out.
As things stand, after the European debacle, Carlo Ancelotti‘s future hangs in the balance. He is still alive in La Liga and with the Copa del Rey final against Barça on the horizon, but he seems to have given up. Just like the team. The Italian’s press conference revolved around his future and the team’s inability to even scratch Arteta‘s side. These were his impressions:
Elimination from the Champions League: “It’s a disappointment to be out of the Champions League. This is the other side of football. There’s the happy side and today is the sad side. You have to know how to handle the happy side, the victories and the titles. And now it’s time for sadness. You have to know how to manage it. There are several competitions left and we have to focus on that. Arsenal were better in the tie. The penalty that was denied us could have changed the tie, but it wasn’t to be. Even so, Arsenal were better, defended very well and it wasn’t enough.”
The rest of the season: “We have to accept this tie. Keep our heads up. We’ve done very well in this competition in previous years and this year we’ve had to suffer and accept defeat.”
Coach at the Club World Cup?: “I can’t talk about my future right now.”
Last Champions League game?: ”I don’t know if it’s my last game. I don’t know. If the club decides to make a change, it could be this year or next year when my contract expires. I can only ever thank this club. I’ll thank this club and that’s it. Whether my contract expires or not, it makes no difference to me.”
Are you to blame? “Being the only one to blame doesn’t change what I think. We have to fight for the league, for the Copa del Rey and the Club World Cup. This is not handling the sad side of football well. I have to focus the team. We have games to play and we have to be protagonists. There are very important games.”
Ceballos and not starting: “Ceballos wasn’t 100% and that’s why he didn’t start the game.”
Team spirit: “I’m not worried about the team’s response. We have to keep fighting and battling, I’ve told the players that. We have to be better in the next games.”
Would you change anything you did in the tie? ”I wouldn’t change anything if I could go back.”