Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rarely loses his cool during his press conferences, but he was decidedly grumpy with his side’s efforts during their 1-1 draw with RCD Mallorca on Sunday night. Los Blancos started their title defence by dropping points, and the Italian manager questioned his team’s attitude.
During his flash interview after the match, Ancelotti explained that his side had lacked balance on the pitch, which was one of the chief concerns surrounding Kylian Mbappe’s arrival into the team. Perhaps more concerning for the Real Madrid squad, he questioned their attitude.
“The defending wasn’t good, it was hard for us to win the ball after losing it. That’s where we have to improve, when I talk about defending, we’re talking about attitude and collective commitment,” Ancelotti remarked to Marca.
“The team was too open. We have to focus more and be more concentrated, be more compact. People can think it’s a problem of the forwards, but when the forwards press, the midfielders don’t help and the defenders stay back. It isn’t one or the other.”
"People can think it's a problem of the forwards, but when the forwards press, the midfielders don't help and the defenders stay back. It isn't one or the other."
Carlo Ancelotti on #RealMadrid's struggles to defend and retain the ball last night against #RCDMallorca. (Marca) pic.twitter.com/9cp37u1woB
— Football España (@footballespana_) August 19, 2024
He did perhaps leave the door open to criticism about his decisions regarding substitutions, but equally it may have been more of a dismissal of the noisy discourse around Real Madrid.
“Everyone has their opinion about the changes, they are small details. They may or may not have been late.”
Ancelotti brought on Luka Modric for Aurelien Tchouameni after 63 minutes, but did not refresh his team again until the 88th minute, when he made a triple change; Arda Guler, Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz coming on for Rodrygo Goes, Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior. Los Blancos face Real Valladolid up next on Sunday evening at the Santiago Bernabeu for Mabppe’s home debut.
