Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu following LaLiga matchday 23 derby against Atlético. The Whites struggled to get to their game after the great performance in Liverpool. Atletico’s toughness and their ability to defend very good left Ancelotti’s men with little possibilities to find the goal. Actually, the game in the first half was quiet and the fans had to wait for the 2nd half to see some action. However, despite the draw and Barcelona’s opportunity to extend their lead, Ancelotti stated that the team will keep working and fighting until the end.
The Italian Boss explained the draw in the following terms: "It's not goodbye to LaLiga. It's more complicated than before the match, but we have to fight and fight until the end. Now the cup is the most important thing because it's the next game and we are very close to a title. We're 270 minutes away from winning a title”.
He continued: "We conceded the goal due to the quality of the other team, something we have to take into account in football. It also happened to them with our goal. These are things that can happen, but their goal came at a time when we could've pushed forward and that lowered the team's morale. It's quite normal that we are not at our best because it's the 17th game in 50 days, since 30 December”.
Álvaro Rodríguez: "He has shown all his quality and it is a special night for him and for us because we are beginning to realise that he will be useful in this part of the season. For next season he will be in the first team squad because he has the quality that few others have. For his age, he is tall, powerful and a formidable header. In this last part of the season we will evaluate if we need him, which I think we do, Castilla or both. We have to handle him well and Raúl and I will discuss what to do”.
"I ask him for what we needed. Height in the centre because in this type of game and having Karim, who is not a usual centre forward, putting in a player of this quality was good for us. We needed to focus more because he is formidable with his head”.
Midfield: "We wanted to control possession. Kroos played really well and the three inside players were in good shape. Ceballos was rested and I tried to introduce some freshness on the pitch. We thought Atlético didn't press much up top and we were going to be in control. In the first half we were in control, but we didn't create enough chances. In the second half, when I brought more energy onto the pitch, we conceded the goal. Then we got a bit disorganized. We had time to equalize, but not to win the game”.
Benzema’s current form: “He lacked a bit of sharpness mentally and he needed to be a bit quicker in the final third of the pitch. After the World Cup, he's scored a lot of goals and especially big goals”.
Nacho and Camavinga at left-back: “Camavinga has so much energy and Nacho has more experience and tactical awareness of the position”.
Correa’s red card: “I thought it was fair”.
Four days to prepare for the Clásico: “We'll rest on Sunday. We're back in training on Monday and we'll do some tactical work on Tuesday to prepare well for the game and try to be at our best for Thursday.
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