Real Madrid found their way to a win against RB Leipzig on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu. If there is one thing that Los Blancos always have, it is the will.
It was far from an impressive performance but in the final 20 minutes Los Blancos took advantage of the opportunities that they managed to create through Fede Valverde and Marco Asensio.
Speaking to Diario AS after the match, manager Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with the performance though.
“Yes, it was the thickest [most viscous] game, to put it like that. It was fantastic game, firstly we did not want them to catch us on the counter and for that reason we did not move the line forward as much in the first half.”
“It was a controlled game at the back and only twice did they get in behind us. We wanted to play the match to win it. Their best asset was the counter-attacks. The central midfielders were very important. In the second half, they lowered their intensity and we took advantage of our fitness. We were intelligent.”
By thick, it’s most likely that he is referring to the lack of clear openings in the match. Both sides cancelled each other out to a degree, even if Leipzig created several decent openings in the first half.
The Spanish media did not appear to agree with Ancelotti’s assessment though, with Marca headlining their match report ‘Valverde saves a bad day’. Rather than their actual performances, it is Real Madrid’s unwavering capacity to win matches with just one or two chances that is most encouraging for Madridistas.
