Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is not afraid for his job despite the premier class slap at Manchester City. Club president Florentino Pérez confirmed him in office two weeks ago after the triumph in the Spanish Cup, said the Italian after the defending champion’s 0: 4 in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League late Wednesday evening at the Etihad Stadium (first leg 1: 1).
In response to questions from journalists about his future, he assured his stay in Madrid: “Nobody doubts it, because the President made a clear statement 15 days ago. Nobody doubts it.” Ancelotti was recently in discussion, among other things, as the future coach of the Brazilian national soccer team. But in Manchester, the 63-year-old assured that he and the team around the Germans Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger were already “focused on the next Champions League”, in which they wanted to play a leading role again.
He explained the clear defeat against Pep Guardiola’s team with the following words: “You can’t make a drama out of it. This is soccer. Today we played against an opponent who deserved to win. They played with more intensity and quality in the first half.” The bankruptcy is also “a step on the way to doing better next year”.
“We deserved to be eliminated”
The Italian’s statement that Real played “a good season” caused a lack of understanding in Madrid. The “Royals”, who are used to success, won the Spanish Cup, but in addition to the semi-final defeat they are already 14 points behind FC Barcelona as the defending champions in the league. The arch-rival is four games before the end as the new champions of the Primera División.
After defending champions Real Madrid failed to reach the final, Toni Kroos also emphasized the positive performances of the royal team this season. “The league is still going, but it wasn’t good in the end,” said Kroos on Wednesday evening on the DAZN streaming service. After a few remarks and explanations in Manchester, he stated: “Long story short. We deserved to be eliminated.”
He was still far from describing a semi-final as a disappointment, emphasized Kroos: “Otherwise we played a lot of good games in this competition.” Nevertheless, he missed the opportunity to win his sixth personal Champions League title – he has one with him from FC Bayern, four with Real. Since the cup win is already important. “Especially if you haven’t won the other competitions, then the trophy is much more important than it usually appears,” said the 33-year-old.
