Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he was “sad and disappointed” after his team’s 5-2 Supercopa final defeat to Barcelona in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
Kylian Mbappé put Madrid ahead in the fifth minute before Lamine Yamal levelled and goals from Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde put Barça 4-1 up at half-time.
Surprisingly, Raphinha added a fifth goal after the break before goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off, and Rodrygo pulled a goal back for Madrid.
While the result was a boost for Barcelona, it’s a blow for Madrid, who missed out on what would have been their third trophy this season.
Real Madrid’s players look on with their medals after the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have to look at the reality. We didn’t defend well,” a deflated Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. “We tried to press high and defend with a low block. They scored the goals easily, and we didn’t work hard, collectively or individually.
“We lost a lot of duels. That makes us sad and disappointed, but that’s football. We have to take that sadness home. I understand the sadness of our fans. We feel that, but we have to look forward, and prepare for the next game, and recover the good form we’d been in.”
Madrid are next in action in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Thursday, hosting Celta Vigo at the Bernabéu, before playing Las Palmas in LaLiga.
“I won’t name anyone, I’m talking about the whole team,” Ancelotti said. “We didn’t defend well, we weren’t compact, and we have to defend better … We had an extra man [after Szczesny’s red card] and we couldn’t find solutions. But that doesn’t hurt more, I’m sad about the game as a whole.”
Meanwhile, Luka Modric vowed that Madrid would bounce back from the heavy defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals and apologised to the club’s fans.
“I’m sure we’re going to react after this tough defeat,” Modric told reporters. “We didn’t expect to lose like that, but it’s football. We’re sorry to the fans. We have to keep going, stay united, there’s a lot of season left … You can’t always win. If you have to lose a trophy, we’d prefer it to be this one.
“We have to congratulate Barcelona, they played a very good game, they were better and that’s all. We have to improve and correct our mistakes.”
