Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was more upbeat than Thomas Tuchel in his post-match press conference, but he was also cautious and elegant.
After losing 3-0 at night in Madrid, Ancelotti brought in Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo Goes and Marcelo, which changed the course of the match. Ten minutes before the end of the match, Luka Modric chose Rodrigo with a tie on aggregate, before Karim Benzema won in overtime.
Ancelotti took the time to congratulate Villarreal and Unai Emery before getting into the details of the match. In response to a question about the game in general, He said this to Diario AS.
“[There was] A lot of suffering, we were losing 2-0 without deserving it, the team did a good job. I suffered a lot. We didn’t have the hunger to score, we didn’t need to, but for me it was an undeserved 2-0 deficit. We struggled a bit and were anxious, then 3-0 freed the team and gave everything. In the 120 minutes, I think we deserved it.”
When Ancelotti was asked what the key to victory was, he partly put that into coming out with that extra yard in the last moments.
“We won because we had the energy to keep the match alive. The changes were to add more energy. The team suffered a lot. Everyone showed up. It was a tough match, we knew it, but it was more complicated. [than expected]. “
“We suffered, but the more you suffer, the happier you are.”
When Ancelotti was asked to give more depth about the reasons behind his changes, he allowed some insight into his way of thinking.
“I have to be calm, to assess what I have to do. Camavinga and Rodrygo made to add more energy to the team. The efforts Chelsea put in in pressing were great and that gave us an advantage in overtime. The team was fresher.”
Real Madrid will face one of Manchester City or Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals, where they will meet on Wednesday evening on the other side of the city from the Santiago Bernabeu.
