Ancelotti: “I have no regrets on the substitutions”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted that he had no regrets after his team surrendered a 1-0 lead to draw 1-1 with Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano on Sunday night. When asked about his substitutions, he responded bluntly, saying, “no, no regrets. It was to address tiredness.”

Ancelotti on form away from home

“I focus on the positives. We’ve taken a point against a good team. We’re in good form. We’re already thinking about Wednesday.”

Ancelotti on the ugly scenes with Courtois

“I’m just a coach. I’m only in charge of the sporting things, everything else is up to other people to take the right decisions.”

Ancelotti on a poor ending just like Alavés

“That’s football. When you have the advantage and there are five minutes left, you have to defend. We did everything well until the last move with a through ball which let them score.”

Ancelotti on Endrick’s shot from distance

“I think it wasn’t a key move like against Stuttgart. He could pass to Bellingham. I don’t see it as an atomic drama.”

Ancelotti on the intensity of the game

“It was a much more controlled game by both teams. We had a plan, and there were others. We wanted to defend better than last year, which we did. We defended well, and we should have been a little better on the ball. We’ve played a lot, the rhythm can’t always be all out one very game.”

Ancelotti on whether the suspension helped Atleti

“I don’t so, absolutely not. A game with this problem affects both teams the same. Both teams wanted to play. The decision from the referee was the right one.”

Ancelotti on what the referee said

“He said that there’d been a lighter thrown. He said he’d warned twice, if it happened again the game would be suspended and we’d take a 10-minute break.”

Ancelotti on whether the suspension helped Atleti

“He’s good. This was a very hard-fought and competitive game, it wasn’t ideal for him after a long-time out and he could play on Wednesday. Tchouameni had presence on the ball and was fantastic.”

Ancelotti on Thibaut Courtois not taking goal-kicks

“It was a harsh kick on Fran García, Courtois has a muscle problem and we’ll evaluate it tomorrow.”

Click here to read article