Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti regretted the yellow card shown to Tchouaméni and assured his players that Militão or Nacho would replace him. “We have to play as equals as we did today. We are convinced that if we continue to play in the same way, something positive can happen,” he said.
“It was a good game from us. We started badly with an own goal, but then the team played well, especially pressing in the opposition half and winning back a lot of balls. We could have won, because we were leading 3-1, but we could also have lost. At 2-3, if we didn’t react quickly, we lost,” Ancelotti summed up.
Nevertheless, the Italian coach was satisfied with his team’s performance, even if he was hoping for a more favourable result. “I liked the way we played. We wanted to have a small lead, but we have to be satisfied. We fought well and if we repeat that in the second game, we can qualify,” he defended.
Ancelotti also stressed the importance of not giving City any space.
“We can’t allow City to shoot from outside the box. We did that and they scored a spectacular goal. We did well as long as we managed to press them and make them uncomfortable with the ball,” he explained, also praising the support of the fans.
