Carlo Ancelotti: “If Simeone says we defended well with the low block, I say thank you.”

Last night Real Madrid defeated Atlético Madrid 2-1 at the Estadio Metropolitano.

In the post-match press conference that appeared on AS, Carlo Ancelotti expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance:

“Very happy after winning the derby, very happy, obviously. We had the double advantage with the 0-2 lead and we were able to defend well. The idea was to be good at the back and play vertically with balls between the lines. That’s how the two goals came and we accepted that at 0-2, we had to defend, that that was enough.”

“We defended with a low block. We are used to it. It’s clear that we took the danger out of their midfield. The low block allowed us to control possession well and the quality of João Félix and Griezmann. If Simeone says we defended well with the low block, I say thank you, because I think it’s a compliment,” he added.

However, he believed that the team played too conservative in the second half:

“In the second half we took away the idea of doing damage and it affected us a bit. Rodrygo was well controlled and at the end we suffered because they created problems for us.”

Despite the eight-point gap between the the two sides, the Italian coach argued that Atlético Madrid are still a threat in the title race:

“They’ve had a difficult start, but they’ll be in the fight until the end. Nothing has been decided yet, everything can change quickly. The season is going to be very special with the World Cup and it was important for us to start like this.”

GSFN

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