Ancelotti: “It's an important time of the season and I'm pleased with the team's performance”

Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City the day before the game against Almería, which will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Italian had the following to say: “Playing at home is very important. Our fans help us and that allow us to perform at our best in every game. It's an important time of the season, with five league games before the Champions League and we are keen to do well in these games. The team's doing well. We played extra-time on Thursday night, but the players have recovered very well, because I was impressed with them in training this morning.”

“We're focused on tomorrow's game and we're up against a team where the data says they have 6 points, but they deserved to win against Girona, Atlético were asking the referee to blow full-time at home against them and against Barcelona they were drawing until the 30th minute of the second half. They're a team we have to respect and they have quality. They're still alive and tomorrow they're going to fight for the game. We have to be ready”.

Rotations?
“There are many players who deserve to play and I have to take into account if there is tiredness after Thursday's game. I have the feeling, after today's training session, that everyone will recover and the objective isn't to hand out minutes but to win the games.”

The goalkeepers
“There's no such thing as an immaculate goalkeeper. They make mistakes and both Kepa and Lunin have made them. There's no internal debate. The debate is outside, not inside. There's no debate here. I choose the goalkeeper and that's it.”

Criticism
“I don't give an opinion. I listen and try to look at what's going on in the dressing room. We're still in a good shape and we're happy and in good spirits. What's going on around us doesn't matter much. The team is competing and performing very well. All the players, apart from those out with cruciate injuries, are okay and now we have two weeks to work and that suits us well.”

RMTV videos on refereeing
“Freedom of expression is there and everyone can say what they want. Everyone can give their opinion on any matter and I don't have to add more in this respect. I have faith in the refereeing system, but what's happening is being investigated and we have to wait for the decisions in this regard.”

His last conversation with Vini Jr.
“The last time I spoke to him was on Tuesday and I thanked him for what he said and because he got three goals in the Super Cup final. You have to thank him for what he's trying to do, although there are things to improve, and because he scored a hat-trick in a Super Cup final.”

Tchoumani
“He was at his best in the Super Cup final and it may have been the best game he's ever played. He could've done better for Griezman's goal, there's no doubt about that.”

The sin of youth he referred to in his previous press conference
“What I said isn't a reproachment. With a bit more control we could've handled the extra-time better. We have players who go for it and they've been very successful, but when there is fatigue it makes us more confident when we lose the ball less. It was a collective thing. You have to manage possession better when you have total control of the game. You can avoid unnecessary counter-attacks or threats.”

“I try to be as objective as possible and in the league games against Atlético we did poorly. Since then things have improved. We played very well in the cup game. There were some situations that were costly for us and we weren't sharp at the back, but we played good football and controlled the game against a very strong opponent. Nobody deserved to lose. In the Super Cup match it was heads and in the Copa match it was tails. They were extraordinary spectacles and I'm pleased with the team.”