Carlo Ancelotti appeared before the media in the press room at the Estadio Gran Canaria and analysed what happened on LaLiga matchday three: “It was a bad first half. It’s difficult for us to look for the right play at the moment. We have to hold on and suffer a bit because the team isn’t well balanced. We’re not quick in our movement and it’s hard for us to win the ball back. It’s everything that happened against Mallorca, I haven’t seen any improvement. We have to look for a quick solution and we’re going to find it.”
“We are struggling to find the solidity we had last year. We can’t look for excuses now, because the calendar is tight and we have another game on Sunday. I have to be clearer in my strategy to give the players clarity. It’s proving more difficult for us than we thought. We have to work and focus on what we have to do. Fortunately, these three games have shown me a lot of things that are not going well.”
What is the problem?
“I’ve noticed that our game is slow, there’s not much mobility. The ball comes to the strikers when the opposition has already dropped to defend, without the ball it’s difficult for us to be compact and we leave spaces between the lines. The problem is quite clear.”
Looking for solutions
“I have to look for the solution, not the players. When there is a problem, it’s the coach who has the responsibility to find the solution. I’m going to look for it so that the team can play well and be solid again. The squad is now complete.”
System
“When we have the ball in the middle the team is not compact, there is a lot of distance between the lines. We’ve done well with our high pressing, what we need is to be more solid in the middle block and to win the ball back more.”
The mental factor
“I don’t think it’s a mental problem because the team is training well. It’s a problem that sometimes happens in football, that you’re not able to find the best way to play, to be solid and convincing. I don’t see a lack of attitude or character. Things aren’t going well and we have to fix it soon because the season has started and we can’t drop points like the ones we’ve dropped in the last two away games.”
