Carlo Ancelotti expresses satisfaction with Real Madrid’s display in victory against Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, expressed satisfaction with his team’s determination after securing a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu in a tightly contested first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 encounter on Tuesday night.

Brahim Diaz netted the decisive goal in the second half following an equaliser from Atletico’s Julian Alvarez, who responded to Rodrygo’s initial strike.

Despite both Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe squandering clear opportunities that might have expanded Real’s lead for the second leg, Ancelotti remained upbeat and refrained from lamenting the missed chances.

He focused on the positive outcome of defeating what he regards as one of Europe’s premier teams this season, asserting that his players would need to apply even greater effort to capitalise on their slender advantage in the pursuit of title retention.

“These matches are closely contested. It’s a Round of 16 in the Champions League and could just as easily be a final or a semi-final. Atletico are a top-tier team in Europe; you can’t expect to settle the tie in the first leg,” Ancelotti stated during the post-match press conference.

“We’ve secured a slight edge that boosts our confidence leading into the second leg, but that’s all it is. It was a challenging match… as it always is against Atleti.

“In the first half, we conceded too many unnecessary turnovers, which nearly cost us. They equalised through Julian Alvarez, but we improved in the second half. We managed to take advantage, and we did it.“

Ancelotti suggested that while it may appear disappointing for Mbappe and Vinicius, Atletico’s defence deserves credit for successfully neutralising the talents of his world-class duo.

“Going up against Atletico’s defence is no easy task,” Ancelotti remarked. “We didn’t create many opportunities throughout the match, but both players put in a tremendous effort and fought valiantly…

“They haven’t had the chance to display the quality we all recognise in them, but they will have the opportunity in the return leg.“

The victors of this tie are likely to face Arsenal, who are in a commanding position to progress to the quarter-finals following an impressive 7-1 triumph over PSV Eindhoven in the first leg on Tuesday.