Carlo Ancelotti showed his satisfaction with the classification in a moderate way, true to his style: “The match was a tremendous effort. They handled it well in the first half but in the second half we did better. Atleti lacked energy “It was a spectacular match. We had more energy in the second half. Atleti was a very strong opponent,” he noted.
The Real Madrid coach highlighted those who came on in the second half for his team: “We tried to press high and it was difficult to recover. I am left with the contribution of those who have entered. We have removed Rodrygo, Vinícius and Valverde and we have done well. Brahim, Joselu, Arda… have contributed a lot. I’ll stick with this.”
Ancelotti also commented that Kepa had played a good game: “It wasn’t his fault for the goals. We’ll see who plays in the final.” Regarding the rival in it, he said he had no preferences: “Between Barcelona and Osasuna, let the best win.”
Ancelotti suffered a lot during the match: “We, the coaches, didn’t enjoy it; it was an open and spectacular match.”
Atlético’s coach, Diego Simeone, was hurt by the defeat. Asked if there could be revenge in the Cup match next Thursday, he denied it: “No. In football there is no revenge, there is a new match, a different tie than today.”
Simeone did not have many buts for his team’s defeat: “In the 90 minutes we played a very good game, with specific situations that we must improve but with the feeling of always being stopped, present and strong for what was happening in the game. Unfortunately, in the 86th minute they tied precisely because of insistence. And it cost us more. I think they were fair winners,” he commented.
Simeone believes that his team was able to defend better: “Maybe we were stronger in defense than other times, but we need to grow. I have to look for tools to regain defensive security because offensively we are working well. This is like when I arrived at the club. The team did goals, but he didn’t defend that well. We are going through that process and the responsibility is mine.”
Asked if his team lacked skill after 3-2, he denied it: “You can lose the ball like we lost it, the game could be cut short… But they came out of the pressure well because they have those tools. I hope we improve.” .
