Ancelotti: "We Mustn't Let Our Guard Down Because LaLiga Continues"
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid's coach, acknowledged that winning the clasico and increasing the lead to eleven points over Barcelona, with 18 games remaining, "is a very important step" towards the title, but he urged his players not to let their guard down because LaLiga is still ongoing.
"It's a very important step we've taken to win LaLiga. We have a significant advantage, but we mustn't let our guard down because LaLiga continues. We need to earn a few more points, and that's the only way to prepare properly for the Champions League semifinals, which are coming soon," he said in a press conference.
"It's been a spectacular season so far, despite all the problems we've had, especially physical ones. As for whether Barcelona deserved to win the match, honestly, a draw would have been fair and wouldn't have been bad for us," he added. "In the end, we managed to win the game with the last drop of energy to position ourselves well in the table."
Ancelotti pointed out that Barcelona's need and the risks taken by Xavi Hernandez in the final moments were key to the final result.
"When we drew level at two goals each, they tried to push many players forward, losing balance, and we had simple transitions. We could have scored earlier with Vini, and in the end, we did because they tried everything and lost balance," he added.
He also acknowledged Vinicius's frustration at being substituted and the reason for the change. "Vinicius didn't like being substituted, he wanted to continue, but the effort from the forwards was tremendous, considering the previous match. We asked them to defend, work for the team, and they cover the most ground with speed, attacking depth, and use a lot of energy. I understand he wanted to continue, but it was necessary to bring on fresh legs."
The winning goal was scored by Jude Bellingham, who found the net at a crucial moment. "It came at the right moment after playing a game with a lot of effort and hard work. It had been a while since he scored goals, and he scored a crucial one to win LaLiga."
Ancelotti also praised Lucas Vazquez, who won the penalty for the first goal, scored the second, and assisted in the third. "He's a very important player, not just for what he did today, but throughout the season. He's in very good form right now, competing with one of the best full-backs in the world like Carvajal."
"Lucas made the difference today, as in many other games. Carvajal could have played, but there are players who are in very good physical shape at this stage of the season, like Lucas and Modric. They help us a lot after an immense effort like on Wednesday," he explained.
Ancelotti revealed that Nacho Fernandez and Ferland Mendy were benched due to fatigue, and although he opened the door to rotations in the upcoming matches, he made it clear how he will approach Friday's game against Real Sociedad.
"In the coming days, the best way to prepare for the end of the season is to continue trying to win the games we have to play. To prepare well for the semifinals, we have to give our best on Friday."
"We've done very well, we couldn't have done better. Very few believed we could do it, but as always, we didn't give up," he concluded.
