"It was our worst game" - Carlo Ancelotti laments Real Madrid's loss to Espanyol, says it was 'deserved'
Real Madrid fell to a shocking 2-1 defeat to Espanyol during their La Liga clash on Sunday (October 3). Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti was left worried by the uninspiring result, noting a drastic change in his team's attitude over the last few days.
"We played badly, there's not much more to say. We began the game with an idea, but we weren't able to stay calm and stick with it," the Italian was quoted as saying.
Ancelotti: "Today's defeat is not an accident, we deserved to lose. We are worried, this club not used to back to back defeats, we have to remedy this and fix the errors we made again today."
Ancelotti called the game their worst one of the season so far.
"After the goal there was a lot of confusion. It was our worst game [of the season so far]. Now we have the international break and we have to reflect and find out why the team's attitude changed in a week. I noticed [the change in attitude] today. We weren't very aggressive, we lost out in duels. I'm referring to the technical and tactical aspect of the game."
The Real Madrid manager added that they failed to wield control over proceedings and that their reaction to Espanyol's goals was slow.
"We deserved the defeat, our reaction came too late and we are concerned, because it isn't usual for us to lose two games [in a row]. Our plan was clear, I'm not going to explain now what it was. But it's true that we seemed disorganized and we didn't control the ball well."
FT: Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid.
Madrid are handed their first La Liga loss of the season 😬 https://t.co/wMs1fss6LF
Real Madrid traveled to Espanyol in their eighth La Liga game of the season but were left in shock as the hosts scored twice in 60 minutes. Karim Benzema scored for Los Blancos in the 71st minute but it only proved to be a consolation as Espanyol secured all three points with a rigid defensive performance.
Real Madrid hit a rough patch
Real Madrid started the season on a promising note with decent results across La Liga and the Champions League. However, they've failed to maintain their momentum in recent games and are now on a run of three matches without a win.
Carlo Ancelotti's men recorded a disappointing 1-1 draw with Villareal in their preceding La Liga fixture. That was followed by a 2-1 loss to Champions League newcomers Sheriff Tiraspol on Tuesday (September 28) before Espanyol rubbed more salt into their wounds with a 2-1 victory.
Fortunately, Real Madrid maintain their spot at the top of the Liga table, tied with Atletico Madrid at 17 points. The international break presents Carlo Ancelotti with a chance to detect and fix his team's problems before club football returns in the middle of the month.