Following the catastrophic 3-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg to Arsenal, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media, addressing Kiyan Sobhani of Managing Madrid’s question on “tangible improvements for the second leg”, by saying, “a lot can happen at the Bernabéu. It seems that after tonight there is no chance, but in football there are always changes. Nobody expected Arsenal to score two goals from set pieces, but these things happen sometimes. We have to believe.”
Ancelotti on the defeat
“It was a tough defeat, obviously, we didn’t expect this, but after the 2-0… in set pieces… we fell apart a bit. We finished the match badly. This team usually reacts, but the last 30 minutes were very bad. We have to be self-critical. And think about doing everything possible to try to come back.”
Ancelotti on whether Real Madrid can mount a comeback
“There are few possibilities, but we are going to try in every way we can.”
Ancelotti on whether he feels responsible
“Obviously, there’s no doubt about that.”
Ancelotti on what went wrong in the second half
“It’s difficult to explain. We lacked a joint reaction, unity. We lost order on the field and from then on, they controlled the ball better.”
Ancelotti on whether a front four is no longer his best line-up
“No. The line-up has been different from previous years, but it is the best. The good guys have to play, that’s what I think. But we have not been able to be a compact block.”
Ancelotti on whether Arsenal are just a better team
“Today they showed better quality, attitude, working as a block. We have to be quite critical. For an hour we were not bad. The result should not make us throw everything away. It’s very difficult to come back, but in the first half we did several things very well. We had chances to take the lead. And the physical work was of a very high level.”
Ancelotti on whether a comeback is possible
“We’ve done it many times and it’s time to do it again. It’s complicated, but we have to try from the first minute to the last.”
Ancelotti on what went wrong
“For an hour the team was good and then we paid dearly for two goals from set pieces. Mentally we didn’t have a good attitude in the second half. It’s a tough defeat. Especially because of what we didn’t know how to do in the second half. And because we did quite well in the first half.”
Ancelotti on a lack of good play
“Yes, the team fell mentally and couldn’t react. Up to that point we were balanced. There was intensity. They didn’t look for much between the lines, until they scored the second.”
