Ancelotti: “This wasn't a victory purely based on quality, but rather on commitment”

Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Balaídos after the team's win over Celta. The coach said: 'Bellingham is doing very well, he keeps scoring and contributing to the team. Vinicius had a niggle in the first half and we changed him. We'll see what it is in the next few hours, it looks like some discomfort in the muscle in his leg'.

 

'Vini Jr. wanted to continue and I don't think it was too serious. He tried and it was niggling him a little bit, so we made the decision to replace him. I don't think he'll play against Getafe and the break will help him to recover for when we play again. He had a good start to the game, he seemed unstoppable. It's a shame. We found it more difficult without him, but also due to the fact that they played very well at the back'.

 

'There's no leeway. I don't know what happened. I told Valverde that Modrić should take the penalty and I don't know what happened between them. Vini wasn't there, he was the one who was supposed to take it. They decided that Rodrygo should take it because I don't think Valverde was able to tell Modrić that he should have taken it. It angered me a bit, but it could have been a misunderstanding. I don't think Valverde had time to tell them, I'll look into it in the next few days'.

 

'Kepa played well and we struggled a bit at the back at the beginning and it was difficult for us, but the team played well. A clean sheet is a good sign. This wasn't a victory purely based on quality, but rather on commitment. There were some negatives, but we battled until the end'.

'The attack is taken care of. We've scored six goals without Karim and without Vini. That means we have what we need. I thought about sending Brahim on but I preferred to keep a balance to avoid any surprises at the end'.

 

'He deserved to play, we've been well covered by Lunin and Kepa in the last three games. We'll see about the next game'.

 

'I saw someone grab Kepa's jersey and I think it was clearly a disallowed goal'.

 

'Goals aren't his biggest quality but he's doing well. He is good off the ball, he's intelligent and his timing is good. He's got a lot of ability on the edge of the area'.

 

'This squad is proving that it's complete. We're capable of winning without Courtois, Militão, Karim and Vini. This shows that the squad is well assembled. They've done well'.