Real Madrid -head coach Carlo Ancelotti was more relieved than robbery after the penalty victory of Real Madrid Weg to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round from 16 to Wednesday.
Ancelotti was not convinced by the performance of his team after they were beaten 1-0 after extra time and won 4-2 on penalties to their city rivals.
The visitors admitted after 27 seconds to level the draw and make it 2-2, where the scores remained until the penalty shootout. Real Madrid will be confronted with Arsenal in the quarterfinals for a place in the last four.
“I tried to explain to my players that the priority was not to make the game more complicated than it was,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“We made it harder by losing unnecessary balls that constantly thought we were out of position … If they scored 2-0, the game could have gotten out of hand … We played better as the game progressed, our chances had, but we had to improve in our focus and concentration.
“We always have to look for improvement. The draw was evenly coordinated and a mistake could have been expensive. We wanted to finish the game before punishing, but here we are still fighting and being contrary to this club.”
In the meantime, Jude Bellingham scored one of Real Madrid's penalties in the shootout and acknowledged that both he and his teammates had to dig deep to cross the line.
“That is sometimes what is necessary, those moments of calmness and balance. It is not always the crazy quality you see from us,” said the 21-year-old TNT.
“There is a change in mentality when we get into these games, we know that there is a certain way to win games.
“We are very good at that. We understand game situations very well, and tonight was another example.”
00:27 – The opening goal of Conor Gallagher for Atlético Madrid against Real Madrid After 27 seconds is the fastest goal ever scored by an Englishman in the history of the UEFA Champions League. Vamos. pic.twitter.com/dctz5nbv8o
– Optajoe (@Optajoe) March 12, 2025
Real Madrid had to trust some luck during the draw, which did not resemble the performance in their 6-3 aggregated victory over Manchester City.
Instead, after being amazed by the early strike of Conor Gallagher, they were the beneficiaries of a huge piece of happiness when the punishment of Julian Alvarez was excluded in the shooting.
The Argentinian slipped when he took his place, who went inside, but unintentionally hit the ball twice.
Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved the penalty from Lucas Vazquez, but a Miss from Marcos Llorente allowed Antonio Rudiger to squeeze his decisive punishment.
“Really happy. It's a huge game for us to win,” said Bellingham. “It is huge for us, so important for us to get through at this stage. It will mean a lot to the fans because we played against.”
Comments