Ancelotti: “If we had to win one of the two, it’s better to have won vs Barcelona than vs Rayo”

Following Real Madrid’s 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano, Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the Bernabéu press room and analysed the draw. He was in an optimistic and positive mood, insisting that the team had played well.

Analysing the performance, he said: “We just lacked a goal. I think we had a good attitude and energy, but we didn’t get the result we wanted. We shot 23 times and had no shots against. In the first half, maybe we forced it to the left too much when we should have used the right too. We did that more in the second half. We tried in every way, with crosses, vertical passes, but it didn’t come off. I think we were good, but sometimes this can happen that you don’t score. The important thing is to keep trying until the end, which we did. I don’t just look at a match depending on the result. There’s no drama, we’re well-placed in the title race and well-placed in the Champions League.”

Ancelotti on being happy despite dropping points Pressed on his positive outlook on the game, the coach explained that he doesn’t just consider the final score when evaluating matches. He said: “In some games we’ve maybe won without deserving to and here we deserved to win but didn’t. I can be sad when we win but don’t play well and other times I can be happy when we play well but don’t win.”

He was then asked if he was referring to El Clásico when mentioned games Real Madrid “won without deserving to” and he replied: “If we had to win one out of the two, better to have won against Barcelona than against Rayo.”

Ancelotti on whether there is fatigue Asked if he feels the squad is fatigued, he was adamant that this isn’t the case, stating: “I think today’s performance shows the opposite. In terms of energy, the level was high. I didn’t see fatigue in the players.”

Ancelotti on the lack of goals On the team’s inability to take their chances, and asked if they’re too reliant on Bellingham, he said: “We have many attacking resources. We created with Valverde, Vinícius, Joselu and Rodrygo. We just lacked some in the finishing. I’m not worried that we didn’t score.”

Ancelotti on the Modrić substitution Luka Modrić was one of the players who was creating chances, so the coach was asked why he substituted the Croatian off. He explained: “We wanted to change the system and open up the pitch with Rodrygo, and play 4-3-3. I thought about who to take off, but I decided to take off Modrić to add more energy.”

Ancelotti on Arda Güler Asked about Arda Güler and when he’ll make his debut, Ancelotti said: “It wasn’t the right moment for that today. It was a hard-fought game, with lots of aerial balls towards the end. We want to be calm with introducing him.”