Carlo Ancelotti: "We played very badly, but beating Real Madrid is not easy"

MADRID, 12 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, looked for the positive side of the tie signed this Tuesday against Shakhtar Donetsk, recalling that despite the fact that they played "very badly", they are already in the round of 16 of the Champions League and they once again showed that Despite everything, beating them "isn't easy" because they haven't stopped trying "until the end."

"The day in general has been complicated, we are in the second round of the Champions League and we have shown that we never give up, even when things don't go well. We have played very badly but this can happen in football, and it is important that when things don't turn out well, don't give up and we've tried until the end", Ancelotti said at a press conference.

The Italian insisted that "sometimes it happens", that a game can be played badly, but that "explaining it is quite difficult". "The first half was well controlled, but we didn't have many opportunities because we played a lot more inside than outside and then it was more complicated with the goal. We lost our balance a bit and suffered a bit from their setbacks, but winning Real Madrid is not easy," he warned.

Regarding the early goal conceded as soon as the second half began, Ancelotti believes that it was due to the fact that they changed "the way of pressing compared to the first half". "They have found space on the side of Valverde and Rodrygo. It bothers a bit, especially because the game has become much more complicated," he lamented.

The one from Reggiolo defended the match against Eden Hazard, whom he saw with "difficulties" like Karim Benzema because Shakhtar "closed the lines a lot". "They haven't had many chances between the lines, but they have complied and they were going to change after 60 minutes because they had a very powerful bench with a lot of energy, and they had already considered changing five players", he clarified.

In this sense, "no" believes that he has an advantage over FC Barcelona ahead of the Clásico for playing a day earlier. "When you play Wednesday and Sunday you have time to recover well. I have made changes to avoid problems because we played on Saturday night, we had the trip and some players were tired and I didn't want to risk it, but not to keep them fresh for Sunday's game. because one may not have played today or play on Sunday", warned Ancelotti.

Finally, he acknowledged that he sent Antonio Rüdiger to the rival area because he needed "height" and that "he is the best with Militao to finish off with a header", and confirmed that the German is fine despite the hard blow he took from Trubin when scoring the tie . "He has a cut on his forehead, but mentally he is fine, he is conscious, he speaks and he smiles because he is happy because he has scored an important goal," he detailed.