Carlo Ancelotti addresses Real Madrid's La Liga title race with Barcelona after shock 1-0 Mallorca defeat
Real Madrid succumbed to a devastating 1-0 loss in their La Liga clash against Real Mallorca on Sunday (February 5). The sole goal of the game came via Nacho as the Los Blancos star turned the ball into the back of his own net.
Following the defeat, Carlo Ancelotti's team are currently trailing Barcelona by five points, having played one game more than Xavi's side. In the aftermath of the defeat, Ancelotti was quizzed about whether the loss brought an end to his team's charge of defending the La Liga title.
The Italian manager replied (via 90 min):
"Farewell to La Liga? It's a very painful defeat. We prepared for this match, and it's a very difficult match. Overall we didn't play a bad game. The goal we conceded and the penalty kick affected us a lot."
Real Madrid vs Liverpool in the Champions League
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Ancelotti further added that the defeat was a difficult one for the team to digest. He said:
“It was the game we expected, a very tough and difficult one. We haven’t had the luck to handle it. We were stopped many times, and had many faults and falls."
"We’ve had opportunities and we haven’t taken advantage of them. It was difficult to play between the lines, we tried and it didn’t go well.”
Marco Asensio missed a great opportunity to restore parity for his team as the Real Madrid winger saw his effort from the penalty spot saved. Los Blancos currently have 45 points on the board after the end of 20 league games. They have won only two out of their last five league matches.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the team's ambitions moving forward
Following the defeat against Real Mallorca, Carlo Ancelotti was asked about whether Real Madrid would focus more on the UEFA Champions League now. The Italian manager replied (via Madrid Universal):
“What is more important is every game we have to play. Now we have to play the Club World Cup, which we want to win, and then we’ll fight for the league until the end. It’s not over yet, there are still a lot of games to go. What happened to us today can happen in every game.”
Ancelotti getting emotional like this is a sign that this team is not working anymore https://t.co/d4LesZ8biA