Ancelotti: "Quality alone isn't worth it when you can't match this kind of attitude from your rival"

MADRID, 7 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, believes that his team did not have "the forcefulness" that Rayo Vallecano offered as one of the causes of the defeat this Monday at the Vallecas Stadium where it was clear that "quality alone is not worth " when you can't "match" the intensity that the red-and-red team put on, and tried not to set off the alarms at a moment that they see as "quite normal" and because "the League is very long."

"We have failed to read the game and the forcefulness that the rival had, this has cost us a lot. We have had difficulties in getting the ball from behind, perhaps more direct balls could be put in, and it has cost us in the individual duels and the second play", said Ancelotti at a press conference.

The Italian stressed that "the quality was not enough to equalize the match" and lamented a certain lack of aim. "We've had chances that we usually make, but we've had a lower level of forcefulness," he said.

The Madrid coach also made it clear that he was not "disappointed" with the players. "What I've told you, I've told the players. When you can't match this kind of attitude on the pitch, quality alone won't let you win the game," he reiterated.

In addition, he sees his players "concentrated" on what they have to do and not on a World Cup, whose proximity is unrelated to the current downturn. "We just got to this break because we've played quite a few games. We've suffered and we're not as fresh as before, especially in this type of game when the rival puts a lot of pressure on you.

"We need legs and in today's game we didn't have them. The moment is not as good as before, but it's quite normal, we are disappointed to lose leadership, but the League is very long. We are upset by the defeat, period. After the first part of last season, the team did very well, better than ever."

Ancelotti acknowledged that it was "a difficult game" for Vinicius. "When it's hard for you to come out from behind, the strikers suffer more than the rest," he warned. "He always has special marks and today he has not given the level that he has usually had in games this season," he added of the Brazilian.

"Today's game is not a physical problem. When I talk about duels and forcefulness, it's not only physical, perhaps the strategy was not the most appropriate. You don't have to be afraid to put the ball long and it may be that the coach has failed not to say that they put one in from behind", stressed the Real Madrid coach.

Finally, the Italian referred to the duel in the round of 16 of the Champions League against English Liverpool. "It will be a very entertaining and complicated crossover, with a good atmosphere at Anfield and at the Bernabéu. It will be a spectacular tie," he said.