Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian coach of Real Madrid, responded to criticisms about his defensive setup at the Etihad Stadium to knock out Manchester City from the Champions League. He asserted that he hasn't seen "any Madridista fans sad," praised the way his players set aside their egos for "the team's success," and mentioned a Spanish saying he really likes: "talk to me about the sea, sailor."

"I'm not surprised, everyone can have their opinion. For us, it's very clear how we have to play. There are two aspects, defensive and offensive, that you have to manage well when you have the ball and also when you don't. Sometimes there are games where you have the ball less than normal, and you have to be good for the full ninety minutes like we were," he analyzed.

"As of today, I haven't found any of our fans sad; I don't know if they'll come out in the next few days. They're all very happy, and I agree because the team has shown even more. There's a saying in Spain that I really like: 'talk to me about the sea, sailor.'"

Despite the qualification to the semifinals being nerve-wracking, decided by penalties, 'Carletto' confessed that he suffered more in the comeback against Chelsea in the Santiago Bernabéu.

"It's an important night more than a suffering one. I suffered more against Chelsea because we were very close to being out near the end of the match. In the two-legged tie against City, we were out for very little time. We spent more time qualified than eliminated. That explains why we put the block very deep because most of the time we were qualified. More difficulty against City, more suffering against Chelsea," he opined.

In another chapter of Real Madrid's long history in the UEFA Champions League, the penalty shootout at the Etihad Stadium will be remembered. Ancelotti explained the choice of players based on the confidence they showed when asked and admitted that he had only seen Antonio Rüdiger take penalties in training.

"We have the idea to ask the players how they feel in an important moment when they have to be ready and prepared. At that moment, everyone helped a lot. Kepa was important; we had many reports from Luis Llopis, who worked hard to have maximum possible information about the shooters. Everything went well," he analyzed.

"We practiced penalties only on Monday before leaving. Rüdiger took three and scored all three. I had never seen him take one, but these are moments where the technical aspect is secondary, and the most important is the emotional one. If a player is balanced and has the necessary calmness to take it, he will take it. That's why it's important to talk to them and for them to be honest and sincere," he added.

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Out of the five Real Madrid penalty takers, three were defenders. Lucas Vázquez, Nacho Fernández, and Rüdiger took on the responsibility and didn't miss.

"Sometimes it has happened that in a shootout, you have difficulty finding five who will take it. The other day there were more, and we chose those who were more convinced emotionally to do it," he revealed.

Carlo Ancelotti also praised the way players like Vinícius Jr. or Jude Bellingham, stars of Real Madrid, worked for the team, giving up their offensive virtues.

"The strength of a team is the strength of a working group and players who put their personal ego before the team's success. The game may leave doubts on one side, but on the other hand, seeing such commitment is quite rare in a top-level team," Carlo Ancelotti concluded.