Ancelotti: “This was another step towards Vinícius becoming one of the best in the world”

Real Madrid defeated Sevilla 2-1 on Sunday night and Vinícius was the match-winning hero. Logically, then, there were several questions about the Brazilian in Carlo Ancelotti’s post-match press conference.

The Italian praised the 21-year-old, saying: “The goal was extraordinary. He’s a player who has something special in his feet. What has surprised me about him is his goalscoring quality. I knew he was quick and a great dribbler, but I think we’re all surprised at how he can score goals now, which is something he wasn’t doing in the past. Today, he couldn’t take players on one-vs-one because there weren’t opportunities. Sometimes that happens, when you can’t do what you want to do. Yet he was still able to make himself the most important player in the game, which is another step towards becoming one of the best in the world.”

Analysing the game as a whole, the coach said: “I have to say that we played against a very strong opponent and they showed their quality, especially in the first half. We struggled to press high up. They unbalanced our play. But, once we levelled on the scoreboard, it was a more even game and we defended better and we started to control the game. We were lucky enough to score, but I honestly believe a draw would have been a fairer result. I don’t think we deserved to lose, though.”

Ancelotti on Camavinga and Valverde

The flow of the game swung in Real Madrid’s favour when Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde were brought on and Ancelotti was asked about the two young midfielders. He replied: “Camavinga and Valverde brought a lot of energy when they went on. That was important for having more control. We have another game on Wednesday, so maybe I’ll think about making some rotations for that. My players are used to playing every three days.”

Ancelotti on VAR and its lack of use this weekend

There were several refereeing incidents in this game, for both teams. While Ancelotti didn’t want to go into detail on any of those specific examples, saying he hadn’t had a chance to see replays yet, he did discuss VAR as a whole and its lack of use this matchday. Ancelotti told reporters: “VAR can be a useful too and we need to make the most of it. I think we’ve seen a few mistakes this weekend.”