Carlo Ancelotti: "A loss was going to come sooner or later"

It had been a while since Carlo Ancelotti looked this annoyed after a game. Hard to blame him. Still, he was very reasonable with his answers because, in the end, it was just one bad game after a ridiculous 22-game winning steak.

First, Carlo was asked about his general impression of the game, and what did his team miss to get the win in Mestalla:

I think the team played a good team. In the end we didn't deserve to lose because we just weren't lucky enough to convert our chances to go up 2-0 or score the 2-1. In the end we also had many chances but couldn't score. It happens in football. You can't always be effective. Our attackers were always dangerous, they had chances but they just didn't score. It doesn't mean anything at all. They played well.

On two straight losses (granted, one was a friendly) and whether it was just an accident or if it's something deeper:

(Laughs). I don't know. I mean, speaking about a friendly where we used our starters for just 45 minutes...This was a loss that comes after 22 straight wins, and it was going to come sooner or later. It happened today, but we don't forget what we've done right, and we'll surely do it just as good after this loss.

He also had some praise for Valencia:

Valencia have been really strong this year. We prepared and played well, but playing well doesn't always guarantee you will win a game. Valencia deserves credit, as they fought very hard the entire game. We will now focus on preparing our next game.

Our very own Lucas Navarrete asked the Italian coach if tonight's performance by Real Madrid's midfielders is a bit worrying before Wednesday's intense Copa del Rey game against Atlético de Madrid:

For Wednesday's game, we'll prepare it and we'll use our best players to win it. Our midfielders played well tonight, and physically the team looked really good, especially at the end of the game.

On how this loss will affect Real Madrid next Wednesday:

It's in the past already. A loss had to come, but we have to keep going. It's a very long season, but the team is well positioned in La Liga and other competitions. In that sense, it won't affect us a lot because we did a lot of things right before this loss.

Carlo was also asked about the role of the ref:

I think the ref had a very good game. It wasn't an easy game for him. He was heavily pressured for the crowd, there was a lot of kicking, lots of fouls, but I think he did well.

Finally, he was asked about what changed from last season's Valencia to the one they faced tonight. Carlo didn't really elaborate on this one:

They are a very solid team, with a lot more quality.

Awesome.