Carlo Ancelotti: "It's exaggerated to call this a crisis"

2-0 loss at the Calderón. Yikes. Two losses in a row. Double yikes. Yeah, it wasn't fun at all. Still, Carlo Ancelotti tried to remain calm after this painful loss against Atlético de Madrid.

First, he was asked about Cristiano Ronaldo not starting the game and his overall thoughts after it:

Cristiano was a bit tired so it would've been risky for him to play the entire game. That's why I saved him for the second half. As for the game, we had it under control until that penalty. We didn't play well in the last part of the game. In the first half, with the game under control we should've been more efficient, with more forward passes, but we were fine until that penalty.

On Real Madrid's lack of penetration on the right wing and Sami Khedira and Álvaro Arbeloa's impact on it:

We lacked penetration overall, not only on the right side. We abused of the lateral passes, but it's also very complicated to play against Atlético de Madrid. They defend well, and play very tight back there. Maybe we need to be more vertical.

On Gareth Bale's current form:

There wasn't a problem with Gareth Bale. The problem was with the entire team. Karim Benzema nor the team had many chances either. Overall, it was hard for us to create opportunities. Bale tried, and even scored a goal but was offside.

After 22 straight wins, one guy asked Carlo about this being the start of a crisis (I know, I know):

Crisis? That's a bit exaggerated. Obviously we're not happy losing two in a row. We have to win again quickly, starting with the Espanyol game. Also, this was just the first half of this story against Atlético. We still have to play the second game. In football, anything can happen.

While some people think this is over, Carletto says Real Madrid aren't dead yet:

It's clear this isn't over. We have a chance. It's true that Atlético has the advantage, but anything is possible. We'll try to win, and while we know the odds are against us, we'll do the best we can with our chances.

On what was missing tonight:

Like I said, we lacked penetration in our game.

Finally, Ancelotti was asked about Sami Khedira's performance:

Sami played well. He didn't make mistakes and was well positioned on the pitch. I liked the way he played.