“We played very badly”, he acknowledged after the draw against Shakhtar
“The important thing is that when things don’t go well, don’t give up”
The Italian Carlo Ancelotticoach of Real Madrid, was forceful in assuring that his team played “very badly” against Shakhtar Donetsk (1-1) in the Champions League soccer match played this Tuesday in Warsaw, but pondered that, despite this, “what can happen in soccer, the important thing is that it doesn’t” they gave up.
“In general terms, the team has complied. We are in the round of 16 and we have shown once again that we never give up. We played very badly tonight, but this can happen in football. The important thing is that when things don’t go your way, don’t give up. We have tried until the end”, said Ancelotti in the press conference after the game.
“We have played badly, because sometimes football happens. In the first half we didn’t have many opportunities as we tried to play more inside than outside and the game was more complicated after conceding the goal. We played poorly, but we qualified. Only the teams classified for the round of 16 can win the ‘Champions’”, he completed.
“After the break we changed the way we press and they found us spaces on the side of Valverde and Rodrygo. It’s a bit annoying to fit in so quickly because afterwards the game got much more complicated, ”he added.
Ancelotti denied that the change of the Belgian Eden Hazard in the 57th minute serves to point out his poor performance.
“I made two changes to bring freshness to the team. Hazard did his thing. Like Benzema, he had difficulty because they closed their lines down the middle a lot. I think he has fulfilled. The change was discussed after 60 minutes, because I had a bench with players with a lot of energy”, he commented.
“I have made the changes to avoid problems since we played on Saturday night and after the trip some players were tired, not because they are going to play on Sunday,” he replied about the rotations he carried out this Tuesday.
Ancelotti praised Kroos’ performance: “With Toni, things are very clear. He is going to choose if he is going to stay or stop his career. We are in no hurry to wait for your decision. Today was one of the best, like Rüdiger, who was up because we needed height in the last few minutes”, he said.
