Carlo Ancelotti focuses on positives after Real Madrid survive late scare against Alaves
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Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappe during the La Liga match against Deportivo Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sept 24.
PHOTO: AFP
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MADRID – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he was not worried after his side survived a late scare in a 3-2 home win over Alaves in the Spanish La Liga on Sept 24.
Alaves scored twice in the last few minutes but Ancelotti looked for the positives, praising his side’s performance in taking a three-goal lead and creating several chances to win by a larger margin.
“This is football and when you think the game is over, get distracted and allow your rival to score, you give your rival a confidence boost while your own confidence is shaken. It’s something that happens all the time in football and it won’t stop happening,” Ancelotti said.
“Sure, we don’t want that to happen to us, nobody does, but we need to highlight that for over 80 minutes our team played really, really well and that is what gives us confidence moving forward.
“For over an hour the team played very well, looking for opportunities in different ways, in transition, filtering passes through the opponent’s lines...
“The team is improving, it’s good for us because the schedule is very demanding. Sunday’s game (at Atletico Madrid) will also be very demanding.”
Real dismantled Alaves with goals from Lucas Vazquez (1st), Kylian Mbappe (40th) and Rodrygo (48th) before a late salvo from the visitors rocked Ancelotti’s side. Carlos Protesoni and Kike Garcia scored in the 85th and 86th minutes, but Los Blancos held on.
Unbeaten after nine games in all competitions since the start of the season, Real are second in the La Liga standings on 17 points, one behind leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand and will host second-from-bottom Getafe on Sept 25. That match took place after press time.
Real will be back in action against Atletico, who are fourth on 12 points and will play at Celta Vigo on Sept 26 before hosting their rivals on Sept 29.
Ancelotti said he was delighted with the progress of Mbappe and praised midfielder Jude Bellingham’s performance after the pair combined well for the France striker to score Real’s second goal.
“(Mbappe) is being great, we are doing really well in attack,” Ancelotti said.
“(Bellingham) is growing, he gave the assist to Mbappe and played a very complete game. He needs to get used to playing a bit more inside the box, like he did last year.
“It’s more complicated against a team with a low block like Alaves. What I ask Bellingham is to do that kind of work, not to score goals. With the players we have, we can score at any moment.”
Meanwhile, the 2027 Champions League final will be moved away from the San Siro in Milan due to uncertainties over potential renovations, Uefa said on Sept 24.
European football’s governing body said that the San Siro had lost the showpiece fixture as the city of Milan could not guarantee the ground and the surrounding area “would not be affected by refurbishment works”.
“It was decided not to assign the final to Milan and to re-open the bidding process to appoint a suitable venue, with a decision expected in May/June 2025,” added Uefa.
AC Milan and Inter Milan, who both play their home matches at the San Siro, in September rejected a project to modernise and restructure the iconic stadium, which is owned by the city of Milan. REUTERS, AFP
