Ancelotti: “We are not going to win the game vs Manchester City through fitness, but through attitude”

Carlo Ancelotti took to the press conference after Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Mallorca. Ancelotti was asked about the Mallorca game, as well as the tie vs Manchester City on Wednesday, and he had a lot to say. He said: “I think we played well. I did not give rest due to a physical aspect. Everyone was fine. Only Rodrygo, who had a knock. All those who have played less have fulfilled. Joselu, Brahim... Brahim missed an incredible goal, but he had a spectacular game. Modric is very good, too. We are not going to win the game [vs Manchester City] through fitness, but through attitude. City are physically very strong.”

On the team’s overall performance

“The game was as we expected. Mallorca always has a lot of commitment. In the first half we didn’t do well, very slow. In the second part much better. It is a very important victory that brings us closer to the title. We have a good streak and now let’s think about Wednesday. We have time to recover.”

Ancelotti on what he talked about with Javier Aguirre

“Nothing special. I have a lot of love and respect for him. He is a great coach. Speaking of commitment, there are not many teams that have more than Mallorca. This is the great work of their tactician.”

On Vinicius being whistled

“It was known that it was a special environment for him. But when he came in it was dangerous, he faced it, he was fresh... The whistles are normal. The whistles are success.”

On the team’s commitment

“The team has been very solid and continuous and in this sense, what we have done... We have not always played well, but we have always competed. This is the good thing. Everyone talks about quality. It’s true. We have a squad with a lot of quality, but the higher the quality, the more difficult it is to find commitment. Even now, we search for it.”

On Real Madrid missing chances

“It usually happens that when you don’t score, you get punished. Luckily, we defended very well. We barely gave any opportunities. We have to avoid unnecessary losses because recovering the ball is difficult for us, like all teams.”

On Militao not playing as much

“I wanted to give him more minutes in the second half, but the match was there. We put him in at the end to enhance the aerial game.”

Whether it was difficult to focus on today’s game due to the one on Wednesday

“No. We know where we are. Every match is a final. The goal was today. We are very happy. Winning here is always complicated. In the second half, we played at a very high level.”

On Tchouameni

“Yes, he played very well in his favorite position. He stands out a lot on a defensive level, because he has a lot of presence. The presence of a tall pivot was important in that sense, because they were giving a lot of balls to [Vedat] Muriqi. Rüdiger and Nacho also helped.”