Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti stressed the importance of the victory over Atalanta in the Champions League. “The Whites” achieved success with 3:2 in Bergamo and collected an asset of 9 points in the Champions League, reported sportal.bg.
“A very important victory. Not every team can win in this stadium. We were patient and fought for the three points. In the Champions League, it is of great importance to be able to show patience”, Ancelotti shared.
“Atalanta put a lot of pressure on, but we started the second half in the best way. We are happy because we needed this victory and not only because of the points. "Finishing in the top eight is still a difficult task, but we still have two games left and we have to make the most of them," said the Italian specialist.
Ancelotti also answered a question about the condition of Kylian Mbappe, who opened the scoring but was injured a little later and was forced to be substituted.
“It is about overload. Killian felt discomfort in his thigh. I don't think it's anything serious, but we'll find out tomorrow for sure. He couldn't run calmly, which worried him and that's why we decided to replace him,” explained Ancelotti.
Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini was pleased with his team's performance despite the loss.
“The Bergamas” created many chances in front of Thibaut Courtois's goal, but in the end conceded to the royal club.
“Both teams aimed to play football, there was no time delay and no simulations. Both us and Real Madrid were looking for the win using our strengths. It turned out to be a really quality match," commented Gasperini.
"Naturally, now we are disappointed, but we can learn a lot from such matches. We are missing small details, but we played bravely against a big team. "We lost as a result, but we did not give up in terms of play, which will help us take another small step forward," explained the Italian specialist.
“We showed a lot of good things. This motivates us to continue developing. At times we were a bit slow to move the ball into the opposition half and Real Madrid immediately lined up in defense. It's a shame that our long winning streak has come to an end. We knew we could equalize. Yes, we are sad that we did not succeed, but it turned out to be a real celebration of football, which is one of our main goals,” added Gasperini.
In the next round of the Champions League, Atalanta will play against the Austrian Sturm (Graz).