Online Reporter
MADRID. — Real Madrid fans and players celebrated their hard-fought win against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to earn a quarter-final berth in the Champions League, but manager Carlo Ancelotti was more relieved than rapturous at what he said was a subpar performance.
Real secured the victory 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the tie ended 2-2 in aggregate as the defending champions bid for a record-extending 16th European Cup win.
Ancelotti was disappointed that Real conceded a goal inside the first minute that levelled the tie after Real had secured a 2-1 first-leg advantage at home last week.
He urged his players to be sharper as they prepare to face Arsenal for a place in the semis.
“I have tried to explain to my players that the priority was not to make the game more complicated than it already was,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“We made it more difficult by losing unnecessary balls that constantly found us out of position… If they scored 2-0, then the game could have got out of control… We played better as the game progressed, had our chances, but we need to improve in our focus and concentration,” he said.
“We always have to look for improvement. The tie was evenly matched and a mistake could have been costly. We wanted to finish the game before penalties, sure, but here we are, still fighting and in contention, as is customary at this club.”
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was fuming with the referee’s decision to rule out Julian Alvarez’s spot kick in the penalty shootout as they were knocked out of the Champions League by rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday.
During the shootout, Alvarez slipped and the VAR spotted that his left foot touched the ball slightly before he kicked it with his right. With only one touch permitted, the penalty, which would have levelled the shootout at 2-2, was chalked off.
Simeone was left frustrated with referee Szymon Marciniak’s decision, saying that he was yet to see an image that conclusively showed that Alvarez touched the ball twice.
“I’ve never seen the VAR called to review a penalty in a shootout… Never!” the Argentine told a press conference.
“Did you see him touching the ball twice? Please whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touching the ball twice, the ball moving, please come forward and raise your hand!
“I don’t see anybody with their hand raised so that’s all I have to say… next question.”
Simeone said that despite the heartbreaking defeat he was proud of his players and hoped they could recover quickly as they host title rivals Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday.
Only one point separates Spain’s three biggest clubs in one of the closest LaLiga title races in recent years with Barca leading the pack on 57 points, ahead of second-placed Real Madrid on goal difference with Atletico Madrid in third on 56 points. Barca have a game in hand over both.
“We’ll see if this defeat will cost us moving forward, the way we went out it’s not easy to digest,” Simeone said.
“We have a great opponent on Sunday. I’m sure Barça wanted us to go to extra time.
“We will get to the game tired, beaten after we competed the way we had to compete tonight, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got on Sunday.” —Reuters.
