Palma, Feb 5 (EFE).- Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach, admitted that the defeat (1-0 with an own goal by Nacho Fernández) against Mallorca at the Son Moix stadium “hurts a lot”, above all, because of the 8 points of advantage that Barcelona can take if they beat Sevilla tonight at the Nou Camp.
“Losing affects us, it’s clear, but there’s a lot left in the League, anything can happen and we’re going to fight until the end,” said Ancelotti, visibly annoyed by the numerous fouls committed by the Mallorcan players (29) and the “provocations” that his judgment suffered Vinícius Junior.
«What is happening is not Vinícius’s fault. He plays soccer but endures provocations against rivals and environments. Fouls when repeated over and over again are yellow cards. But we left (at the end of the first half) with Vinicius and Ceballos reprimanded and zero cards for Mallorca.
The Madrid coach was also asked about the penalty missed by Marco Asensio in the second half.
“I choose the pitchers,” he specified. «The first on the list is Benzema, who was not there; then Modric, Kroos, Rodrygo and Asensio. I asked Asensio to throw it because Rodrygo had missed one (in the World Cup in Qatar) and it could affect him.
Regarding the match, Ancelotti said that it had been “tough, difficult with many fouls and interruptions.”
«We did not do badly, although the fact of conceding the goal so soon affected us a lot. They scored the first time they entered the area. Now we have to think about the (Club) World Cup, which we are very excited about,” he said.
The Real Madrid coach also justified the eleven that he lined up in Mallorca, diminished by the losses of Benzema, Courtois and Militao, among others.
«Toni (Kroos) was touched by the game against Valencia and it was better to avoid problems. Luka (Modric) had played a game less than 72 hours ago and he didn’t want to risk it and (Thibau) Courtois had a problem in the warm-up and couldn’t play”, remarked Carlo Ancelotti.-