Ancelotti: Scoreline Does Not Reflect Match Content, We Had More Chances Before Barcelona Scored

In the early hours of October 27, Real Madrid suffered a historic defeat at the Bernabéu, losing 0-4 to Barcelona in El Clásico. This loss dealt a heavy blow to the team and left them trailing the league leaders, Barcelona, by six points. After the match, Real Madrid’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, analyzed the game and attempted to explain the reasons behind the team’s defeat.

Regarding the result, Ancelotti stated: “The match was evenly contested, and we created several opportunities to score, but we just lacked a bit of accuracy. We had chances to take the lead, but after the opponents scored two goals, our morale was significantly affected. The subsequent part of the game turned against us, and their quick counter-attacks posed a significant threat. I am satisfied with our performance in the first half, but this is indeed a difficult moment. We should not negate all our efforts because of the last 30 minutes. The most important thing now is to maintain a positive attitude and learn from this defeat.”

When asked about Kylian Mbappé’s performance, Ancelotti said: “We tried to adjust his position to cope with the opponent’s high pressing strategy, which almost paid off. Mbappé had three or four scoring opportunities, unfortunately, he couldn’t convert them into goals. As for the incident on the bench, it was due to one of Flick’s assistants, who behaved improperly during the celebration of a goal, directly provoking our bench. Flick himself has already explained this.”

Regarding the disparity between the match content and the final score, Ancelotti believed: “The actual content of the game was not as lopsided as the final score suggests. They broke the deadlock first and then gained momentum; but before that, we had created more chances than they did.”

Reflecting on the defeat, Ancelotti emphasized: “Every failure is an opportunity to learn, and appropriate self-reflection is necessary. However, we should not completely overlook our efforts in the first half. Although today’s result is unsatisfactory, it is different from any previous defeat.”

Facing the future, Ancelotti expressed concern but also confidence: “This setback worries me a bit, but we must pick ourselves up and keep fighting. Just like after past El Clásico defeats, we need to show our resilience. I believe we are not far from the success of last season.”

Discussing defensive issues, he added: “Overall, the defensive work was done well. When we decided to bring Modric on and adopt a more risky strategy, we lost our defensive strength. However, I still believe that our performance in the first half was commendable. The key is that once the opponents score consecutively, you are forced to adopt a more aggressive approach to catch up, and when facing a strong opponent, this often brings greater risks. Therefore, psychological factors are equally important alongside tactical considerations.”