Carlo Ancelotti has described Atletico Madrid’s approach in the derby against Real Madrid as ‘violent’.
The sides played out a 2-2 draw that was marked by a number of on and off-the-ball altercations and Ancelotti said at his post-match Press conference that Atleti’s style of play was ‘rude’.
Asked by a reporter to explain if he meant intense or violent, Ancelotti replied that he meant the latter.
“I mean Atletico tried to play a violent match, not our style,” the Italian confirmed.
“[Our response] was just to play, to think only of playing and not other things.
“We must take the draw. It was a difficult game. We tried to play but it was not so easy.
“Our second half was very good. In the first half, after [Karim Benzema’s] goal, we tried to defend high up but we let Atletico back into the game.
“Atletico had more difficulty in the second half because we moved the ball across our front line, left to right.
“We were not patient in the first half. They got tired in the second.
“We lost the ball too easily in the first half, that’s why Atletico could get into the game.”
Ancelotti also explained his reasoning behind starting Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao at full-back before bringing on both Marcelo and Dani Carvajal.
“Arbeloa and Coentrao were fresh,” Ancelotti said.
“So I started them, then in the last 30 minutes we needed more pressure on the wings so I brought on Marcelo and Carvajal.
“The wrong line-up? No one thinks about what players line up more than me.”
Ancelotti added that he was happy with the result and believes it leaves Madrid well-placed for the rest of the season.
“We’ve drawn a game we were losing. We can be happy with that.
“Atletico are a great team, especially at home.
“Now we are leading the table and we’ve got seven more home games and five away, so we must consider this as well.”
