Carlos Ancelotti- ‘As a supporter of football it was a fantastic game, As manager of Real Madrid, I think I have to take into consideration we scored three goals
Real Madrid left Manchester City on Tuesday night with a slim 3-4 loss in the Champions League semifinals first leg as they hope to turn around the second leg tie. The game at Etihad Stadium handed both teams some decent chances but it was Pep Guardiola’s side that head into next week’s second leg clash with a goal-difference superiority.
Carlos Ancelotti has reflected on the thrilling encounter insisting the game was ‘fantastic’ and Real Madrid responded well after going down 2-0 in the first 12′ minutes. Despite revealing his team’s positive sides, he claims Real Madrid didn’t defend well after conceding four goals but they have little work to do at Santiago Bernarbeu on Wednesday.
Ancelotti told BT Sport: “As a supporter of football it was a fantastic game. As manager of Real Madrid, I think I have to take into consideration we scored three goals and that was really important, but we didn’t defend so well.
“We conceded two goals so early in the game and then we were able to react really well. We kept the game open until the end and of course now we have a great dream to play the second game in the Bernabeu and have the chance to go to the final.
“The first 20 minutes were really difficult but after that, slowly we were able to come back into the game and keep qualification open.
“We are going to play against a really strong team. They showed fantastic quality today but we competed and we have to compete more in our stadium.”
Man City went ahead just 2′ minutes into the clash after Kevin de Bruyne latch onto Riyad Mahrez’s pass into the box. It was a moment that gave Guardiola’s side the confidence after a sharp start.
City doubled their lead some undistance minutes later through Gabriel Jesus who turned David Alaba to finis beyond Thibaut Courtois. Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva found their names on the scoresheet before Karim Benzema double and Vini Jr sublime effort reduced the deficit to a 4-3 score line.
Manchester City continue their fight for the Premier League title with a trip to Leeds on Saturday evening. The champions hold a one-point lead over Liverpool, who visit Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime.
At the other side, Real Madrid can lift the La Liga title on Saturday with a victory at home against Espanyol.
