Carlo Ancelotti showed great confidence this Wednesday following Real Madrid's defeat at Liverpool (2-0). The Italian coach of the Spanish team believes his group is capable of getting back up, qualifying and fighting for the Champions League title.
A crisis? What crisis? Appearing annoyed on the eve of the match when journalists accused him of being more or less directly responsible for Vinicius Jr's injury, Carlo Ancelotti had a complicated evening this Wednesday at Anfield. During the shock of the fifth day of the Champions League and after, in particular, a missed penalty by Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid lost on the Liverpool pitch (2-0). A third setback in five games which does not really seem to worry the Madrid coach.
“Today's match was not decisive because it was very complicated to finish in the top eight,” assured Carlo Ancelotti during his press conference after the setback against the Reds. “You have to finish among the first 24. And as high as possible.”
>> Relive the best of the Champions League and Liverpool-Real (2-0)
“We will once again be competitive in the Champions League”
With six points from five games and a zero goal difference, Real Madrid have probably said goodbye to their dreams of securing direct qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League this season. Instead, and given their provisional 24th place in the ranking, Carlo Ancelotti's protégés will have to fight to the end to validate their ticket for the play-offs. But here again, 'Le Mister' displayed a certain serenity in front of the journalists.
“We will do it. And we will once again be competitive in the Champions League,” continued the Italian technician. “Like we did last year.”
A favorable schedule for Real
At the microphone of the Movistar channel and quoted by the daily AS, Carlo Ancelotti made similar comments and full of confidence: “I liked my team because we faced the most difficult opponent on the continent. […] We are going to qualify and we are going to compete for the title like we did last year. The path is this: becoming a team again.”
What Carlo Ancelotti forgets to remind is that during the 2023-2024 season and in the old format, his Real Madrid had signed six victories in as many matches during the groups before offering themselves a great epic for finally obtain his 15th trophy in the Champions League.
Six… as the number of points for Real during the single championship phase. After Atalanta in Bergamo, the Merengue club will host Salzburg then travel to Guingamp to challenge Brest on the last day. And after these three matches, Carlo Ancelotti will have been right to believe in it or will see his team sink into a crisis that he will no longer be able to deny.
Jean-Guy Lebreton Journalist RMC Sport
