In the wake of Real Madrid 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Carlo Ancelotti has acknowledged that his tactics were flawed.
While Leipzig nearly doubled Madrid’s efforts on goal on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu, with 20 shots on goal to Madrid’s 11, Leipzig’s performance left much to be desired, even though the draw was enough to advance Madrid to the Champions League quarterfinals.
90 Min adds the home crowd was heard booing and whistling throughout, expressing their displeasure with the performance. Ancelotti promptly took responsibility for the team’s performance.
Ancelotti’s Take On Mistakes
“We have to be critical because it has happened again,” he said. “When we have a small lead we don’t know how to handle it mentally. We don’t press and we lack intensity.
“Maybe I made a mistake in the lineup, but I wanted to bring more intensity and energy, and we didn’t do that. That’s where we have to improve and evaluate what we didn’t do well.
“My idea was to put the midfielders in with energy to press high up, maintain a high tempo and prevent counter-attacks anwas a weak performance, with a low block and we weren’t able to press high.
“It was a tough game, we couldn’t handle this kind of advantage as we did last season against Liverpool. It also happened to me in my first season against Schalke when we won the first leg 0-2 and lost the second leg 3-4. We have to prepare for the games in a different way.”
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Before this weekend’s La Liga match against Celta Vigo, Ancelotti will have to make some personnel changes because Jude Bellingham, the star player, will be serving a suspension after being sent off in Real Madrid 2-2 draw with Valencia.
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