Carlo Ancelotti declared himelf satisfied with Real Madrid’s 5-0 thrashing of Almeria on Saturday night.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco and Alvaro Morata made it a comfortable evening for Ancelotti’s men, and the Italian praised his players’ efforts following the international break.
“I think it was a good game. We didn’t concede and that was important. All the team played well, together, and we must continue like this because right now we are doing well.
“We’ve had a lot of problems after international games and tonight was different, so I think we have to be satisfied,” he told a post-match Press conference.
After injury to Sami Khedira last week, Ancelotti was forced to alter his system of play in central midfield, and explained how it worked at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos.
“I think it’s important to have a squad where we can play with different systems, where players have no difficulty in linking up with each other.
“Today we decided to change it so that Asier Illarramendi and Isco were more comfortable. But I could have played Luka Modric in the same system we employ when Khedira is available, as Casemiro could have been used alongside him.
“Even so, Illarra has worked well in the last two weeks, as has Isco, and was in good condition. To put these two in a more comfortable role we had to change things a little.
“Illarra and Xabi Alonso both did very well and the team looked much more balanced because of the way they worked.”
