Ancelotti: 'We’ve had a good first half of the season'
'The incident with Rodrygo was clear for me: it’s a punch', added the coach.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu after his side’s win over Cádiz: “The break comes at a good time for us. We’ve had a good first half of the season. We’ve reached this final stage a bit light, but we got the win to finish. Now we can rest, knowing that we’ve got 35 points in the league, which is more than last year. We didn’t need the Ballon d’Or man, who scored 50 goals last season. We’re satisfied. We went into these last games with a bit of fatigue. Asensio was tired and I didn’t want to take any risks with him”.
“It’s normal to be up against it. When you think it’s going to be 3-0 and you miss, the other team might score. So we suffered a bit in the final minutes, but that’s normal against a team who played well for 90 minutes. Regarding the incident with Rodrygo, they must’ve had their reasons for the VAR not intervening. I thought it was clear, it’s a punch”.
Changes
“The team was doing well and I didn’t think we needed to make changes. We made our first change when they scored. The team did really well and was comfortable. We created chances and we were fresh. You make changes when you think a player is tired or you need to change the strategy. You don’t need to make changes for the sake of it”.
Provocation
“Vinicius is handling what’s happening very well and he’s in control of his opponents. He’s been kicked a lot in recent games and he’s controlled himself. The other day I saw a statistic that’s significant for Spanish football. It says that from the top five leagues, it’s the one with the most red cards. 55 compared to the ten from the Premier League. I don’t want to say that it should’ve been a red card today, although for me it is. But there are a lot given that shouldn’t be. This affects Spanish football, which isn’t an ugly league”.
“It’s normal to be up against it. When you think it’s going to be 3-0 and you miss, the other team might score. So we suffered a bit in the final minutes, but that’s normal against a team who played well for 90 minutes. Regarding the incident with Rodrygo, they must’ve had their reasons for the VAR not intervening. I thought it was clear, it’s a punch”.
Changes
“The team was doing well and I didn’t think we needed to make changes. We made our first change when they scored. The team did really well and was comfortable. We created chances and we were fresh. You make changes when you think a player is tired or you need to change the strategy. You don’t need to make changes for the sake of it”.
Provocation
“Vinicius is handling what’s happening very well and he’s in control of his opponents. He’s been kicked a lot in recent games and he’s controlled himself. The other day I saw a statistic that’s significant for Spanish football. It says that from the top five leagues, it’s the one with the most red cards. 55 compared to the ten from the Premier League. I don’t want to say that it should’ve been a red card today, although for me it is. But there are a lot given that shouldn’t be. This affects Spanish football, which isn’t an ugly league”.
“Having more than 50 red cards means a lot. It’s something which affects the show. Watching 9 versus 11 is not a match. Some fouls reminded me of those by Real Sociedad against Valencia, Borja Iglesias’ foul in the derby or Rakitic’s yesterday. Be careful with red cards because it’s not a game if played in inferiority and it’s not competitive. It’s not a criticism, it’s a fact. I want to highlight that because I’m a fan of Spanish football, which is very beautiful; all of the teams compete. Breaking that equilibrium with cards must be checked.”
Planning
“We have good news tonight because we got the 3 points and move closer to the leaders. I’m going to sleep well tonight because this is the last press conference. We will be back at training on 1st December and we will play some friendlies. The players who return from the World Cup will have 10 days to rest. The ones who play the final will have 10 days holiday and will be able to play against Valladolid.”
The intervention of VAR in the assault on Rodrygo
“I’ve seen a video which doesn’t clear it up. They must have had a reason not to review the play.”
Kroos
“His position is always the same. He is careful defensively because Tchouameni is a different player. He likes to play with the ball and to move a lot. Bit by bit, they are combining well.”
What are you going to do during the World Cup?
“I’m going to watch it at home. I like football and it’s going to an entertaining and competitive World Cup. There aren’t any favourites and all of the sides will play their part. I will watch my players with their countries such as Spain, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Uruguay. There are lots of teams. I hope we see a good World Cup and that the best team wins. Unfortunately, Italy won't be there.'
Planning
“We have good news tonight because we got the 3 points and move closer to the leaders. I’m going to sleep well tonight because this is the last press conference. We will be back at training on 1st December and we will play some friendlies. The players who return from the World Cup will have 10 days to rest. The ones who play the final will have 10 days holiday and will be able to play against Valladolid.”
The intervention of VAR in the assault on Rodrygo
“I’ve seen a video which doesn’t clear it up. They must have had a reason not to review the play.”
Kroos
“His position is always the same. He is careful defensively because Tchouameni is a different player. He likes to play with the ball and to move a lot. Bit by bit, they are combining well.”
What are you going to do during the World Cup?
“I’m going to watch it at home. I like football and it’s going to an entertaining and competitive World Cup. There aren’t any favourites and all of the sides will play their part. I will watch my players with their countries such as Spain, Brazil, Germany, Croatia, Uruguay. There are lots of teams. I hope we see a good World Cup and that the best team wins. Unfortunately, Italy won't be there.'