Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu after the LaLiga matchday 28 game against Villarreal. His team did not manage to get a win to try keeping the hopes alive about the La Liga title. The coach said that a complicated game like this should’ve been managed better by Real Madrid, but at the end Villarreal was careful enough to make the most out of their chances and take all three points.
The boss analyzed the game as follows: "We struggled to win the ball back. We tried to win it back in the opposition half, but we lacked balance and that's why we conceded three goals. Villarreal play very well with the ball and they force you out of position. We took the lead twice, but we weren't able to score a third and we lost the game. The lack of balance was key”.
He added: "We didn't deserve to lose although we could have played much better. Physically the team is fine and, having so many chances, we didn't really deserve to lose but we lacked the balance we've had in recent games. We took the lead on two occasions and should have been more consistent. Our level in the league has dropped compared to last year”.
The league: "We're not going to let our guard down. That won't happen. There are 10 games left and we're going to fight every game to get as many points as possible”.
Motivation for the match: "Preparing for a game between two matches that are much more important is complicated, especially in terms of motivation. Today we didn't have balance and we didn't play as a team”.
On playing with four forwards: "Balance is very important, but sometimes you approach a game in a way that you don't have a lot of balance, considering the pros and cons. We wanted to open the game up, but we struggled a lot the recover the ball today. They were playing balls in between the lines and getting in behind us. If I put four forwards on it's because I don't think balance was the most important thing. If I was thinking about balance, I'd have tried to control things more in midfield”.
The referee: “Repeated fouling is a yellow card and I protested because you can’t show a yellow after nine fouls”.
The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea: “With regard to the Champions League, this defeat won’t affect our confidence for Wednesday's game, which will be different. I may use the same eleven from the Camp Nou. Today I rotated a lot of players because the match against Barcelona took a lot out of us physically and mentally”.
Tchouameni: “Everyone was below par today. It was difficult to maintain 100% motivation after the Barcelona game. It's fairly normal. This defeat hurts. I don't like to talk about individuals because only a few players were on top of their game today”.
Lucas Vázquez and Ceballos also appeared before the media after Real Madrid's match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu. The defender said: "It was a tricky game. We weren't completely comfortable, it was hard for us to get hold of the ball and we lacked the possession that we usually enjoy, additionally we weren't able to finish the chances that we created. They turned the game on its head on two isolated occasions and we didn't take our chances in the final stages of the game”.
"We didn't play well today despite coming into the game on the back of some great performances. We'll use it to make sure we're in the right mindset for the game on Wednesday against Chelsea. There's no need to overthink things. We have to work and improve for the Champions League game. It's true that the league is complicated, but we're still alive in the other two competitions and we're going to fight and give everything we've got to try and win them”, he concluded.
Ceballos had the following to say: “The result leaves a bittersweet taste. We managed to go ahead twice but then we didn't manage the game well at certain moments. While there are still points to play for, Madrid will keep fighting for the league."
He added: “We went into the game on the back of a great performance at the Camp Nou to reach the final of the Copa del Rey. We’ve been playing really well, and this defeat won't affect our confidence for Wednesday. We've got a few days to train and focus on the game against Chelsea, which is going to be crucial for the rest of our season”.
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