MADRID, 3 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, acknowledged this Sunday that the draw (1-1) against Osasuna leaves them “sad”, although he predicted a “soon” reaction, at the same time that he lamented Karim Benzema’s mistake on the penalty that would have put the meringues ahead, because “the game was won”.
“When this team wins, it’s not happy, it’s sad. We’re sad, a draw leaves us sad, but we’re going to react soon,” said the coach at the press conference after the match against Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabéu.
After nine consecutive victories, Real Madrid let the first points of the season slip away against a serious Osasuna who equalized Vinicius’s first goal. For the Italian, the match “wasn’t good in general”, with a “quite weak” white team in the first half. “The defensive line didn’t press much and in the second half, after the tie, it was better in intensity. The changes were to get fresh legs”, he analyzed.
“We have allowed cons, but without danger. The match was controlled and we deserved to win. There is no need to talk about the excuse of the break, we have to manage it, the squad is very good. I have made changes to give priority to those who trained here” Ancelotti explained that he stated that the game “was won”, but they were not “lucky enough to score the penalty” that Benzema missed when the game was tied.
However, he defended that the Frenchman is “the best pitcher” of the white team. “I remember that after the penalties he missed against Osasuna (last year), he took the most important ones against City and scored them,” he acknowledged.
“It hasn’t been his best game, but it’s normal after being down for a few games. He’s not as fine or as fresh,” he commented on Benzema’s match on his return after missing three games due to injury.
Despite the draw, Ancelotti urged “looking forward”, assuring that the team “has done very well so far and will do well”. “This can happen, it ends a very positive streak, but now we will work to (have) another positive streak,” he added.
The coach insisted that “it can be improved” in terms of conceding goals, something that has happened in all the games this season.
Finally, Ancelotti advanced that Thibaut Courtois will undergo a medical test this Monday, due to a possible “sciatic nerve problem”, so they will evaluate if he can play this Wednesday against Shakhtar in the Champions League.