Carlo Ancelotti has spoken after Real Madrid‘s defeat to Arsenal by 3 goals to 0, and far from admitting that the team was inferior to the English from the start, he believes that the team was doing well until the free-kick goals. He is calling for an epic comeback at the Santiago Bernabéu, but he knows it will be very difficult.
Ancelotti blames set pieces
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach, says the team did well against Arsenal until the goals from set pieces arrived.
“For the first hour the team did very well and then we paid dearly for the two goals from set pieces and the team fell apart.” ”There was a lack of football. The team fell apart mentally.”
He regrets that the blows have been hard on the team, which has not been able to react and score a goal that would have made the comeback a little less difficult. “We haven’t had the ability to react and score a goal”.
Very difficult comeback
Ancelotti acknowledges that the tie has become very uphill and that it will be very difficult to come back next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu. The three-goal difference seems like a big one to experience a magical night at the Santiago Bernabéu, but they hope to turn around a tie that seems lost.
“We have to look ahead, sacrifice, and look together at what we can do.” ‘We have to do everything possible to turn it around.’ Coming back is ”very complicated but we are going to try from the first minute to the last.”
Ancelotti at a press conference
At the press conference, Ancelotti went into more detail about the defeat against Arsenal, and emphasized the team’s lack of reaction after conceding the two goals. “It was difficult to finish, there was no reaction, the last few minutes were very bad. We have to be self-critical.” “We weren’t able to react as a team, only individually.”
He expects a reaction from his players in the second leg. He knows that the comeback will be very difficult, but he wants them to believe it themselves. “The chances are very slim but we have to try. It’s a good opportunity to react”.
A problem all season
Carlo Ancelotti has acknowledged that the team has suffered from the ills it has been experiencing all season, a squad that lives off individuality and is not capable of playing team football. In fact, they have only been able to win two games this season against big teams, against the worst Manchester City of the year, and in the first leg of the round of 16 against Atlético de Madrid. In all the other big matches, Real Madrid have lost, especially in the two matches against Barcelona, where Real Madrid were thrashed.
We have experienced “the difficulty of the whole season, of making a team compact in difficult moments”. When asked if he really believes that Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius and MBappé should play together, the coach is clear. “The four at the top have to play. I always think the best players have to play always. Then you have to organize them and make a compact team. We haven’t always been able to make a compact block”.
Throughout the press conference Carlo Ancelotti had the face of a coach who has experienced one of his worst nights as a Real Madrid coach, “without doubt” assuming full responsibility for the defeat. The noise about Ancelotti has been echoing around Valdebebas for months, and after this defeat, it seems that the noise around him will be much louder.