Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed the wave of criticism following his side’s 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
The defeat, which followed a 4-0 league defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu against their arch-rivals earlier in the season, led to a harsh assessment of Ancelotti’s tactics and the commitment of his players.
However, the experienced Italian coach remains unfazed by the criticism and has refused to place blame on his players.
He said: “This is a press conference and not a debate, I have already led the debate with my technical staff and my players to find the best possible solutions.
“I don’t think this is the right place to open a debate. I don’t follow the wave of criticism that one day you’re the best and the next day you’re the stupidest. Fortunately, thanks to my experience, I have a balance. I don’t think I’m the best, but I don’t think I’m the stupidest either.
“It was a step backwards but we have to look forward because we are always in a good position in every competition.
“It hurt us a lot but it didn’t sink us. It was obviously a bad game, we made a lot of mistakes. We analyzed it, evaluated it and found solutions.
🎙️ @MrAncelotti 🎙️
📺Press conference ➡️ #RMPlay#LaCopaMola— Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 15, 2025
A month ago we won the Club World Cup and six months ago the Champions League. We are in competition. We lost a match, it was a final, it hurt but it was only a match. We are doing well in every competition and we will continue to fight.
Kylian Mbappe was on the scoresheet for Madrid in the match, despite being on the losing side.
The Frenchman had a good game in Saudi Arabia, drawing praise from Ancelotti, who says all the striker needed was time to adapt to his new club.
He added: “All my players have my full support, especially those who are not showing their best form at the moment.
“He needed time to adapt to the team to show his best physical form. Now he is in his best form and the team must take advantage of it.
Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season.
