Mission accomplished as Real Madrid reach Copa del Rey final, says Carlo Ancelotti

MADRID – It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on April 1 for a 5-4 aggregate win over Real Sociedad that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.

He brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.

“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it. It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final,” the Italian told a press conference.

“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”

Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.

“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game. Right now, we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up front, but little balance,” Ancelotti said.

“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”

Real, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville on April 26. Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of the April 2 second leg in Madrid. That match took place after press time.

At the Bernabeu on April 1, Sociedad, trailing 1-0 from the first leg, took the lead through Ander Barrenetxea, but Endrick’s fine chip pulled the 20-time winners level.

An Alaba own goal and Mikel Oyarzabal’s deflected effort helped Sociedad open up a lead on the Spanish champions, but Real battled back with goals from Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni. Oyarzabal grabbed his second in stoppage time to force extra time, but his side could not hold off Real until penalties, with Antonio Rudiger’s header the final word.

“For me (the goal) was easy, (I made a) good movement, the corner was very good and because of that we’re in the final. It’s a hard season, but we’re in another final and we will win it,” Rudiger told Real Madrid TV.

Off the pitch, Ancelotti told a Spanish court on April 2 he had believed his tax affairs were legal, as he testified in a trial in which he is accused of failing to pay €1 million (S$1.45 million) in taxes on image rights revenue.

Taking the stand on the first day of a three-day trial, the Italian said that when joining the Spanish team he had simply requested a net salary of €6 million and had left it up to the club and his British adviser how that was structured.

He is the latest of several football celebrities to be investigated by the Spanish tax authority for alleged fraud. Many cases, including those of leading players such as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s Diego Costa, have been settled out of court with large fines. The prosecutor is seeking a prison term of four years and nine months for Ancelotti and a fine of €3.2 million for two counts of tax evasion in 2014 and 2015. REUTERS, AFP