‘It was a complete match from the first minute to the last’ – Carlo Ancelotti defends Real Madrid

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has defended his team and his tactics, after his side fell to defeat against Barcelona on Sunday night. The Italian came in for heavy criticism for his setup against the Blaugrana, but felt his side were better than their opponents.

The Italian veteran first told Marca that despite their disappointment, Los Blancos are on their way to silverware this season.

“We are sad and hurt… but proud of the game we played. If we plan games like this, we will surely win something at the end of the season.”

He was also asked why he waited so long to make changes.

“Making 5 changes in the 60th minute seems too many to me. I made two changes in the last 15 to give us a bit more up top. The match was complete from the first minute to the last.”

He would go on to say that they were only prevented the victory that by an offside decision, one that he was not sure of.

Ancelotti was certain about the performance of his team though, who he felt could take heart from their performance.

“We had our doubts after the Super Cup game, but today we cannot have doubts about a game like this. A difficult place and opponent, but we did well. We didn’t deserve the defeat.”

The sense coming out of Madrid is that Ancelotti is under serious pressure for his job. Despite his remarkable achievements last season, only success in the Champions League, or perhaps the Copa del Rey, will save his job in the eyes of many.