Carlo Ancelotti hailed his Real Madrid players for taking ‘control’ of their Champions League last-16 tie against Schalke on Wednesday.
Los Blancos left Gelsenkirchen with a 2-0 first-leg victory thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo, and the Coach was especially impressed with his side’s ability to dictate the tempo of the match.
“I’m happy because it wasn’t easy for us after the [sticky] period we had in the League,” he mused to reporters afterwards.
“Everything went well for us. The match wasn’t at a very high level of intensity because Schalke sat back from the beginning.
“We didn’t need to play at a high rate but we had to take control of the game. I think we started well, had some good ideas and tried to play down the wings.
“I liked our performance. We played with a good attitude, not at too high a rate because the match didn’t need us to.
“We were patient in the first half and then we controlled [the match] well. We only took small risks, so I think our game was good overall.”
