Real Madrid may not be perfect, as evidenced by Rayo Vallecano breaking through their defense three times last weekend, but they have turned things around. Since their damaging defeats to Barcelona and AC Milan, Los Blancos have improved in terms of work rate, attitude and results.
The catalyst for that change was a team talk given by Carlo Ancelotti. With talk of the Italian's loss, Marca says he reprimanded his players two days after the match and asked them to turn things around. His main message, which he has repeated publicly, was: 'We must reach Christmas alive.'
Before Real Madrid won the Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca, Ancelotti was also asked whether he had lost control of the dressing room. The Italian laughed off the idea, but it was one that had been circulated by the local press at the time, alongside a series of other complaints serialized after their 3-1 defeat to Milan.
Proof that it doesn't come from veteran star Luka Modric. The 39-year-old captain may not be as important as he once was, but he also rallied his teammates after Ancelotti's speech. “We will not drop the manager,” was his message to his teammates. One that they seem to have adopted.
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