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| Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric (L) speaks with Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti at half-time during the Spanish Super Cup final football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 15, 2023. |
It was a frustrating Sunday night for Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia, as they were beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the Super Cup final, and Carlo Ancelotti was far from happy as he spoke in the post-match press conference.
The Italian was much more agitated than usual and analysed the loss as so, stating: “We lost the game because of the mistakes we made. It wasn’t a lack of attitude. It was individual errors, we had 25 ball losses in the first half, we lost a lot of duels, we didn’t win our one-on-ones, we struggled as we tried to come back. Once they went ahead, as is the case in these types of games, it’s very hard to come back. In the LaLiga game earlier this season, we scored first and then it was really hard for Barcelona. In this game, we made many mistakes and Barcelona were better. The players know that some of these mistakes can be avoided.”
Ancelotti on Real Madrid’s poor form overall
This wasn’t too much of a shock, as Real Madrid have been poor since the return from the World Cup. Asked about this, Ancelotti said: “It’s not a critical situation, but it’s a difficult situation. You have difficult moments in a season and we have to fix this soon with commitment. When you concede three goals, you need to be better in defence. We need to work on that. We’re not playing well right now. But, this team has the quality to be competitive in all the tournaments we have left. Real Madrid usually win finals, and we’ve lost this one, but we have a long season left.”
Ancelotti on how the players are feeling
Providing an update on how the dressing room is feeling, Ancelotti stated: “The players are hurting because this is a team that normally wins finals. But, we have everything we need to get better. Real Madrid will bounce back, there’s no doubt about that.”
Ancelotti on whether this was a humiliation
In one question, the coach was asked if this was a humiliation for Real Madrid. To that, he curtly replied: “To say this was a sporting humiliation is a lack of respect. We lost a match to Barcelona, just as we won a match against them in LaLiga. Barcelona were better today. That’s it. To say humiliation, that’s too much. In sport, sometimes you win, sometimes the opponent wins.”
