Real Madrid once again suffered no end in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 clash against Celta Vigo on Thursday night as they bottled a 2-0 lead and allowed the visitors to come back 2-2 in the dying minutes of the game.
Heading into extra-time, their chances appeared bleak but a brace from young Endrick and a golazo from Federico Valverde were enough to secure a 5-2 win and push them through to the quarterfinals.
Speaking to the media after his team’s late win over Celta Vigo last night, Carlo Ancelotti touched upom several topics including individual performances and the places his side needed to work on.
He began, however, by commending the side for pulling through, saying,
"When the game was almost over we gave away two goals and the game opened. We played a good game until the 70th minute, we scored the third goal but it was offside."
"The team’s reaction in extra time has been good. In the end, everything went well," he added.
Speaking on the late equalizer they conceded on the night, the manager admitted that his side should have done better.
"There was a low tension in the second goal. We were poor at the back with bad positioning and opened the game. We train to avoid this type of mistake."
Needless to say, Ancelotti was all praise for young Endrick who came off the bench and proved with quality with a match-winning brace.
"Endrick has demonstrated his quality. He is a striker who when he has opportunities in the area or on the front shows the extraordinary hitting he has."
"Guler entered the game when we were having a difficult time and has shown his character. He has worked for the team," he added on Arda Guler.
The manager also had words for the fans who turned up in large numbers on the night at Santiago Bernabeu and even booed the team and certain players at times.
"It’s a touch of attention from the fans to the team and the coach. It is an acceptable touch of attention for what happened against Barcelona."
"Then the team had a good reaction especially Tchouameni, who has played a great game.”
He also spoke on how it was important to have such a reaction from the crowd to put into perspective how poor they have been of late."
"The Bernabeu whistled to give a touch of attention. When the game has been complicated, the fans have pushed and when that happens it is special for us."
Aurelien Tchouameni was one player who did not have many supporters in the stands and thus fell prey to whistles. The manager, however defended him viciously.
"He is a player of character, he has returned to his position and has helped the team in the defensive aspect."
"He has recovered many balls, he has helped the two centers, being good in the pressure, and has helped Modric and Ceballos in the exit of the ball," he added.
Speaking on why he took Vinicius off the field when the game was still not won, Ancelotti said,
"Vini was tired. I removed him because we had a fresh player like Rodrygo and I wanted to take advantage of that."
Despite the win, the italian coach made it clear that there are avenues where the team must improve, stating the defence to be one.
"At the defensive level, we have done better. The two goals conceded have been two individual mistakes, but at a collective level the team has played better."
He also spoke on how the team was still alive on all fronts and even in the running for a potential treble.
"We look at the data and they say that we are close to being first in the League, we are in the fight for the Champions League and the Cup."
Towards the end of his press conference, Ancelotti shared thoughts on Kylian Mbappe’s performance, saying,
"He has returned to his best level and is playing very well. He is scoring goals, making clearances with a lot of continuity, he has helped us in this period and in the next games."
Finally, he played it safe when asked about the controversial penalty Celta Vigo were denied after a clear foul by Andriy Lunin.
"I haven’t seen it and I don’t know what to say. The VAR and the referee have spoken and have made this decision. It may have been a penalty, but I don’t know. I don’t know if the decision was right or not because I haven’t seen the play."