Carlo Ancelotti called his players "soft" for their defensive approach. Real Madrid failed to maintain their attacking impetus despite taking the lead through Vinicius Junior's first-half strike.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti wasn't shy in expressing his displeasure after his side's disappointing 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
He called his players "soft" for their defensive approach; despite taking the lead through Vinicius Junior's first-half strike, Real Madrid failed to maintain their attacking impetus.
Ancelotti saw a concerning lack of commitment in his squad, particularly in their defensive positioning. This laxity was ruthlessly exploited by Bayern, who netted twice in quick succession early in the second half.
Vinicius Junior managed to salvage a draw from the penalty spot, but the overall performance left a bitter taste in Ancelotti's mouth.
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"The result is good but on a level of play we could have done better. Bayern showed their best version and we didn't. We have to improve for next week.
"In the first half we defended but with little intensity, in the second half when they took the lead we started to press a bit more, but not enough.
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"The feeling was that we were comfortable, but we lacked intensity. We gave them too many chances to take control of the game. We didn't want to play in a low block and we went on doing that. We were soft," an introspective Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+.
He continued, "Jude Bellingham had a cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in," Ancelotti told a press conference.
"As always, at this point in the season, we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It's an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us."
The second leg tie comes up next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and Ancelotti would be looking to book a place in another final.