Ancelotti: "I'm sure that we will be competitive again"

When asked about Cristiano Ronaldo's birthday party, Ancelotti was clear.

This is not important for me, I never cared about the players' private life. Everybody is able to do what he wants, I have to make clear that these players are professional and have always showed a lot of commitment. We were all frustrated after this match, the fans are frustrated and we are as well. This is a good motivation to try to improve things, the team has reacted well and they have understood the problems we had. We're looking forward to tomorrow's game.

The Italian coach also explained the reasons behind Real's dip in form.

After what happened at the end of last year our intensity, concentration and attitude dropped a little. I don't know if this is normal or not, but this is what happened. We know need to focus on our current goals. the game against Atlético went the wrong way, but after such a successful streak that we had, this can happen. We have time to recover, we're still at the top of the table and I'm confident that we will be able to react and repeat what happened last season.

Lucas Silva will not start although he's now ready to do so.

Silva is not going to start, but if I have the chance I will give him minutes. He's improved his condition but tomorrow Illarramendi will start alongside Kroos. He's now ready to start a game.

Even though there were some reports indicating that Ancelotti was going to start Keylor Navas against Deportivo, Iker Casillas will defend Real's goal.

We have some injured players, the team will not change much. I might start Arbeloa in Carvajal's spot and Illarra in Khedira's, the rest of the team will be the same. I will not change the goalkeeper.

Florentino Pérez visited Valdebebas and had a meeting with the first team. Ancelotti explains what happened.

The President came and talked to us in a positive manner. it's obvious that he wanted to know what was going on but we all will try to find the answer for these problems. He also showed his confidence because he believes that this roster is competitive to fight for the titles.

Finally, Ancelotti said he's confident about turning things around.

I'm calm because I know how professional these players are. That's why I'm confident, I'm sure that we will be competitive again. Saturday's loss was surprising, not because of the loss but because of the result, it was a negative surprise.