Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has urged his team to respond quickly following their heavy loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Barcelona secured a dominant 5-2 win on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, leaving Madrid with a lot to prove. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Ancelotti described Thursday’s Copa del Rey round of 16 match against Celta Vigo as the perfect opportunity for his team to recover.
“It’s a great opportunity to leave behind the bad game we played, which hurt us a lot, but has not sunk us,” said Ancelotti.
The Italian coach emphasized the importance of the game, saying his team is eager to bounce back against Celta, who he acknowledged as a tough opponent.
“We want to react, it’s good this game for us against a team that plays well, the team can have a strong reaction after that bad game the other day,” he said.
Reflecting on the loss to Barcelona, Ancelotti admitted his team made numerous errors but has worked on solutions ahead of the next match.
“The evaluation of the game was a bad game in a defensive sense in every line of the team, not just in attack, or in midfield, or in defence, and there’s nothing more to add,” he said.
Despite criticism from the Spanish media, Ancelotti remains focused and refuses to let public opinion affect him.
“I’m not following the wave of criticism — one day you’re the best in the world, and the next the stupidest (coach) of all,” he said. “Luckily my experience in this world has given me the balance that I need not to follow the wave… I’m not the best in the world but neither am I the stupidest.”
Ancelotti, who led Real Madrid to La Liga and Champions League victories last season, stressed that the team is still in a strong position across all competitions and is determined to move forward.
