Ancelotti: "It was a tough, difficult game but the team dug in until the end"

Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the media room at the RB Arena to analyse the victory over Leipzig in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg: “I have a squad with a fantastic attitude, immense commitment and quality. I was very impressed with how we defended against a team that will always make life hard for you at home. We could have scored more but we could have conceded too. It's a slight advantage and we'll have to make the most of being at home in the second leg, but we'll have to show the same attitude we did today."

“Leipzig are a good attacking side and they're well organised with their wingers coming inside, while they've got two very good and different types of striker. Keeping a clean sheet is great and it shows we did a good job. We struggled with the positioning of their wingers in the first half but we sorted it out later on. Even so, having to dig in was to be expected here."

The team's fitness levels
“The team is in good shape. Today was a pretty tough test in that sense because Leipzig play with such intensity. We almost always played in a low, compact block because we wanted to ensure they couldn't make the most of the transitions. The team is fine because we have top quality players in that sense."

Praise for Brahim
“Since his time at Milan, he looks more powerful, stronger and with greater conviction and personality. He didn't play so much at the beginning but whenever he's been involved, he's always contributed. Now he's full of confidence in his game. He scored a spectacular goal, it was incredible. Of course the goal was the highlight but he worked as hard as anyone. It was a tough, difficult game but the team was focused and they dug in until the end."

“The first thing I thought when he picked the ball up is that I didn't want him to lose it, and he didn't. Whenever he's filled in for Jude, he's done a great job. I didn't want to change the system and I wanted Vini Jr. and Rodrygo to play wide. Brahim took a knock on his ankle and the calf, they'll assess him tomorrow. I don't think it's a muscular issue."

Lunin's impressive display
“He was brilliant. He's highly motivated and playing with real confidence. Playing helps him grow in confidence and he was outstanding today, he did a fantastic job in every respect."

Do you believe we can win the Champions League?
“We want to win the Champions League, but it is such a tough competition to win and we have to be very competitive like we were today to do our best."

Tchouameni at centre-back
“He's fully understood what the team needs right now. He's taken to the role incredibly well, it's as if he's been playing there all his life. He's very intelligent positionally and he's strong in the duel and in the air. I told him it was an emergency and he's happy to fill in. I wonder what he'll tell me when that's not the case... The crisis we've got at the back at the moment is being mitigated by huge commitment from everyone. Tchouameni, Nacho, Carvajal, midfielders Valverde and Camavinga, who do an incredible job, the wide players who drop back in and run for the team... We're a team who play for each other and we have quality. If you take quality and add commitment, great things can happen."

Leipzig's disallowed goal
“Ask the referee but I think it was interference with the goalkeeper because the player is pushing Lunin and it was a pretty clear offside."

Vini Jr.'s yellow card
“It wasn't for dissent, it was because he didn't stand far enough back from the set-piece. It was for wasting a bit of time, not for dissent. I'm not going to complain about that."

Clash with Marco Rose
“He apologised to me at the end and that's that. They didn't put the ball out when we had done so."