Real Madrid News
Carlo Ancelotti talks following Real Madrid 1-1 Man City: “We deserved to win”
Real Madrid held onto a 1-1 draw to Manchester City in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night. The Merengues had the home advantage, but it was Pep Guardiola’s team that dominated the proceedings for the most part.
Viniciuds Jr opened the scoring with a bullet strike into the top corner in the first half. Kevin de Bruyne, however, spoilt Los Blancos’ party with a stunning equaliser after the break.
Heading into the second leg next week, nothing less than a win will suffice for the defending champions. Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the plan ahead and the display on Tuesday, amongst other topics, in his post-match press conference. Here are the snippets from his interaction.
The Italian tactician opened his presser with an overview of the game that unfolded against the Premier League champions and maintained that his side deserved more for the manner in which they played.
“We deserved to win. We managed the game well.”
Erling Haaland has been the centre-piece of Guardiola’s setup this season, scoring more than 50 goals in his first season at the club. Ancelotti, however, stressed that Real Madrid did not place any special emphasis on the Norweigan international.
“We didn’t focus on Haaland. Modrić, Kroos, Valverde did very well with the task to stop Gundogan & De Bruyne between lines.”
The calendar has been ruthless towards Real Madrid at the tail-end of the season. Speaking about his men taking to the field less than three days after the Copa del Rey final, the coach said,
“Even though we just played on Saturday at midnight [the Copa del Rey final]. I have to give credit to the lads because they were really good tonight despite having a bit of rest between the two games.”
The Italian coach had special words for Antonio Rudiger who filled in for the suspended Eder Militao in the starting lineup. The German managed six defensive actions in the game and was critical in keeping Haaland silent.
“Rudiger? He was very good. He’s a player with a lot of experience and high quality. It wasn’t easy, but he played very well.”
Kevin de Bruyne’s equaliser in the second half was a deserved one for Manchester City considering the manner in which they played.
However, there was a moment in the buildup that sparked controversy when Bernardo Silva seemingly failed to keep the ball in play. Ancelotti gave his two cents on the situation.
“beIN showed the ball was out. We all saw it, 3D technology. But VAR didn’t see it.”
The Real Madrid coach also showered praise on Eduardo Camavinga for his performance and gave an insight into how he likes to utilise the player and maximise his output.
“Sometimes we try to make him play in his natural position instead of full back because as a player he likes to play deep and can create problems for the opponent, especially in the second half where he was playing more from the inside and helping Vini.”
Speaking about what had to improve about the performance heading into the second leg at Etihad, Ancelotti highlighted the possession disparity as his primary concern.
“In the first 20 minutes we could have done better but we were in good control of the ball, and then we started to take control of things. We had to find the ball more and try to have possession of it, which we will try to improve in the second leg.”
Real Madrid News
Mbappe hits out at claims on his unhappiness at Real Madrid: ‘Angry at my great aunt too’
Kylian Mbappe has been in the news for a plethora of reasons in recent weeks, starting with his injury and surprise vacation. Beyond that, the Ballon d’Or saga has kept him in the spotlight for a reasonable while now.
The Frenchman, after all, has not held back in speaking out about why he deserves to win the prestigious individual award, and while it is perfectly okay to campaign for the award, it is something that has not usually been done in the past.
In terms of his goalscoring numbers, there is no doubt that Mbappe should be a frontrunner for the award. His lack of a single trophy for both club and country, however, works against his chances.
Mbappe’s sarcastic reply to baseless rumours
Earlier today, there were reports of Kylian Mbappe being angry with Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid for not campaigning for him to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
The rumours, needless to say, portrayed the player in a very bad light and made it seem like the club not making public gestures to acknowledge and back his campaign affected him personally.
Now, the player has himself come out to lash out at the journalists, albeit in a sarcastic manner. Commenting directly below the post making the claim via Fabrizio Romano, the player wrote,
“Yes, yes, I even got angry with my great aunt too.”
Mbappe’s ability to deal with such reports with a tinge of humour, needless to say, is impressive and it can only be good for his image that he spoke out and cut off the news at its roots.
Set to return
There has been significant concern around Mbappe’s fitness in recent weeks after the player left the French national team with an injury after their first game.
The initial diagnosis appeared worrying, but it soon came to light that the player had avoided a major setback by a hair’s breadth.
Now, there is increasing hope that the Frenchman will be back for Real Madrid’s first game after the break against Villarreal, possibly even as a starter.
Needless to say, that comes as a massive positive for Jose Mourinho’s plans ahead of a crucial stretch of the season.
