Ancelotti: “Vinícius would have taken the fifth penalty, but I’m glad he didn’t even have to”

Real Madrid are into the final of the Spanish Super Cup, finally overcoming Valencia on penalties, and Carlo Ancelotti was relieved to win the game even though Los Blancos aren’t at their best right now. Giving his analysis in the press conference after the game, the Italian said: “It was a difficult game, but there aren’t easy games at this level. We made it difficult for ourselves by messing up at the start of the second half. I think we were more compact as a defensive block tonight, but there was that one specific action when we didn’t press the ball and when we didn’t defend the cross. But, our first half was good and the end of the game was good. We’re happy to have made it through. It’s obvious that we’re not at our best, but we’ll get better little by little and, even still, we managed to get the job done tonight.”

Ancelotti on the penalty shootout

After stating in his pre-match press conference that his players hadn’t trained penalties much, Ancelotti gave an analysis of the shootout and his selection of takers, stating: “The key to winning the shootout was starting with the most experienced and coolest penalty takers. Vinícius would have taken the fifth penalty, but I’m glad he didn’t even have to.”

Ancelotti on the team’s physical condition

It seems like Ancelotti is being asked if the squad is tired in every press conference right now and he was again here. This time, he responded: “It wasn’t a physical problem, because we were the better side at the end of the second half and in extra time. It’s normal for us to not be at our best, as we had 14 players at the World Cup, and some players only recently came back, but we made it to the final once again.”

Ancelotti on the injury issues

Addressing the specific injury issues, Ancelotti said: “Camavinga had a knock on the knee that was annoying him, Lucas had a problem with the ankle and Militão had dizziness. I think Camavinga and Militão will be ready for the final, but we’ll need to see with Lucas. On the other hand, Carvajal and Mendy showed they’re fully recovered.”

Ancelotti on the Super Cup final

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final, which will be against Barcelona or Real Betis, Ancelotti said: “We normally do well in finals, so we’ll see how we do. We’ll fight to win the final and to win the Super Cup.”