Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the press after Real Madrid's defeat this Wednesday in Liga, 2-1 at Athletic Club.
How is Mbappé? : “I didn't speak with him. It was a complicated match, very hard fought, competitive. When we equalized, we could think we were in control and small details penalized us tonight. We missed the penalty…I don't have to evaluate a player's game because of a penalty that sometimes you score and sometimes you miss. He's obviously sad, disappointed, but we have to keep moving forward. “
Mbappé is 20 matches, 10 goals, two missed penalties. However, he doesn't even seem 1% of the Mbappé we saw at PSG… “He's much more than 1%. He's not at his best, but we have to give him time to adapt. He's scored 10 goals and he's working to do better.”
And Fede Valverde? : “The public is extraordinary. Fede, like Kylian, is sad and disappointed. He made a mistake, but it should not be pointed out. Fede is a great player. We make mistakes in football, like everyone else. We have to focus on the next game.”
Do you think the defeat was fair? Can we change the penalty taker? “The match was balanced. Athletic is a very dangerous team, we competed and we fought. I think the match was a draw. For what both teams did, I think it was a draw, but there is nothing to say about the fact that they won. I think we defended well in the first half, but we could have managed the ball better in the second half. we were better in attack, we had chances. But nothing worked. We are still in the race. We could have had a better result, but we are here and we have to think about Saturday's game in Girona. and all good. There are three penalty takers: Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius.
Was the reaction late? “I don't think so. Athletic took the lead and then we played with a different intensity. It wasn't too late because we equalized in the 78th minute and we thought we could control the game.”
Does it bother you when people talk about whether Mbappé should take penalties or not? “It doesn't bother me, it's part of football. I think both
[Bellingham et Mbappé] spoke and he took responsibility and it didn't work. It can happen in football.”
What do you think of the disallowed goal and the fact that the referee ignored VAR? : “I didn't see the action. It seemed like they were looking at the offside and then the penalty. He called it to see the situation and decided not to award the penalty.”
Which is stranger, the three defeats the team has already suffered in La Liga or the fact that last year they only lost one game? “It’s stranger to have five defeats [toutes compétitions confondues] in such a short time. We agree that we need to improve in this area. These last few games we have improved in some areas, but we are still not as solid as last year. The last two defeats took place on very difficult grounds. Now, little by little, we will recover our players and improve our level.”
