Carlo Ancelotti refused to enter into a “debate” with his critics about the reason for Real Madrid’s 5-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.
The second successive defeat against fierce rival Barcelona, after losing 4-0 in the league in October, led to a wave of speculation about Ancelotti’s tactics and the commitment of his players.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Copa del Rey round of 16 match against Celta Vigo, Ancelotti said: “This is a press conference and not a discussion. I have already had the discussion with my technical staff and the players to find the best possible solutions.” .
“I don’t think this is the right place to open a debate. I don’t follow the wave of criticism, which says you are the best one day and the next day you are the stupidest. Fortunately, thanks to my experience, I was able to do that.” “Balance, I don’t think I’m the best but I don’t think I’m the dumbest either.”
Ancelotti believes there is no need to overreact as Real Madrid are just one point behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid and are still alive in the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
“It was a step back but we have to look forward because we are still in a good position in every competition,” he said. “It hurt us a lot but it didn’t sink us.
“It was clearly a bad match, we made a lot of mistakes. We analyzed and evaluated them and found solutions. A month ago we won the title. [FIFA] The Club World Cup and six months ago we won the Champions League.
“We are competing. We lost one match, it was a final, it was painful but we won many finals. It was a tough loss but it was only one match. We are doing well in every competition and we will continue to do so.” “Fighting.”
Ancelotti did not lose confidence in his players despite the poor performance against Barcelona, which achieved a big victory despite the presence of a goalkeeper. Wojciech Chesny Sent off in the 56th minute
He said: “All my players have my full support, especially those who are not showing their best levels at the moment.”
One of the players who found good form after struggling to adapt Los Blancos He is Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, who scored on Sunday, has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season since joining the Spanish giants in the summer as a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.
Ancelotti said about the French star: “He needed time to adapt to the team to show his best physical levels.”
“He is now at his best and the team must take advantage of that.”
Ancelotti expects a strong response from his players on Thursday.
“I think I will play with the strongest team possible,” he said. “It’s an important opportunity to bounce back from the bad game we had. We need to keep moving forward starting from Thursday’s game.”
