Ancelotti: “I was angry with Piqué and told him so”

Real Madrid are through to the final of the Spanish Super Cup, having defeated Barcelona 3-2 after extra time in Riyadh. It was an tense game and Carlo Ancelotti explained afterwards that he felt it was an even encounter. In his post-match press conference, he said: “I don’t think that Barcelona dominated, as I think it was even. They used possession and we used counter-attacking. The fact that we sat deeper was so that we could use the counter, which was very effective. Like I’ve said before, pressing high up is tougher for us because of the midfielders we have. It’s maybe not aesthetically pleasing, but we can have success with this. We created quality chances and scored three quality goals in what was truly an even game.”

Fede Valverde scored the winning goal and Ancelotti pointed this out when asked why he took off Luka Modrić, the player the Uruguayan replaced. He said: “Without Modrić we lost something, but Valverde scored the goal that means we’re in the final. He is very quick in getting into the box and he scored the goal.”

Asked for his thoughts on Barcelona’s performance and if they’re improving, the Italian said: “It’s clear that they’re getting better. They have important players coming back or joining, like Pedri, Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati. I think Xavi will do a good job and that they’ll improve.”

Ancelotti on the argument with Piqué

During his press conference, Ancelotti was asked about the argument he had with Gerard Piqué when Barcelona didn’t kick the ball out of play when Vinícius went down hurt. On that discussion, the Real Madrid coach explained: “I was angry with him. I told him he should have kicked it out like we did once in the first half. He told me that they never kick the ball out in such situations and I said ‘sorry’ and that I didn’t know that. That’s respectable, if they want to keep playing and not put the ball out. I just didn’t know that.”

Ancelotti on the status of his players

Asked about David Alaba and the various players who finished the game hurt or exhausted, Ancelotti said: “It was just fatigue, so I think everyone can be back for Sunday. I hope that Alaba can return too. We’ll need to recover well because there was significant effort put into this game. But, we’re just happy to have progressed.”

Ancelotti on the importance of Carvajal

Dani Carvajal was back and made an impact during the 90 minutes of normal time. Asked about the Spaniard, the coach said: “Carvajal is a very important player for us because of his defensive quality and his personality on the pitch. He’s more than a player and is an important part of this squad.”