adminMADRID. — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed his side’s start to 2014 after they recorded a seventh straight win without conceding a goal for the first time in the club’s 112-year history.
A 2-0 win over Granada, thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night also moved Los Blancos clear at the top of La Liga for the first time since May 2012.
But Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were expected to both overtake Real with victories over Malaga and Rayo Vallecano respectively late yesterday.
However, Ancelotti believes his side has finally struck the balance between attack and defence that he has been searching for since his arrival at the club last July. “It is very good to have a record like that. I want to thank all the players because, as I have said before, the team is very focused right now and we are winning the ball back a lot quicker.
“In 2014 the work of everyone has been almost perfect to obtain the record that we have.”
One of the major reasons for Real’s upturn of late has been the superb form of Luka Modric. The Croatian was once again a driving force in the midfield against Granada and Ancelotti believes he is growing in stature in his second season in the Spanish capital.
“Modric’s biggest quality is in the penetration of his passing. At the start of the season he was maybe lacking a little bit in the personality he showed on the pitch. — AFP.
Online Reporter