Ancelotti: “We’ve had deserved defeats, but today wasn’t deserved”
Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media after Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss to Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon. He was asked about the loss, whether it was deserved, to which he said: “We have to take into account the small details, like the missed penalty and then the fact that they conceded a set piece. And they disallowed a goal. These are small details that can change the dynamic of the match. Valencia played their game, with fantastic work. But Madrid deserved to win, without a doubt. Can things be improved? Of course they can. It’s not a matter of attitude; you can criticize whatever you want, but I have the right to see what I see. We’ve had deserved defeats, but today wasn’t deserved. Today there was no lack of attitude.”
Ancelotti on Vinicius Jr’s penalty
“It’s a complicated season in terms of penalties. Bellingham, Mbappé, and Vinicius have missed… I’ve tried to give him confidence, but he missed this one too.”
Ancelotti on the match
“We created a ton of chances and were very close to scoring. We may have lacked effectiveness, and in recovering the ball, but we conceded very little. It’s true that opponents don’t need much to score against us in these moments. We took risks to try to win; a draw wouldn’t have been enough for us, and we got through that counterattack. We did well offensively. We lacked some effectiveness.”
Ancelotti on the Barcelona match
“We’ve missed the opportunity to fight harder for the league title. The match against Barça in the Cup will be different; they’ll attack more, and we’ll need to be better at the back and more effective up front.”
Ancelotti on the league title
“It’s much more difficult to fight for the league title now, but we’re determined to do well until the end. We have a chance, less so after this match, but we have to fight until the end.”
Ancelotti on the goalkeepers
“Courtois trained today and felt good. Because of this doubt about Courtois, we decided not to risk Lunin. He’ll have a few more days to recover. Then we’ll see about Tuesday. We have both options.”
Ancelotti on whistles for Vinicius Jr
“Vinicius is focused on what he’s doing. He may play well or poorly, but he’s focused on what he’s doing.”
Ancelotti on whether Mbappé will be the penalty kick taker now
“Let’s see.”