Real Madrid lost the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final 1-0 to a Barcelona team, according to Carlo Ancelotti, who is confident that Real Madrid has the strength to recover.
Thursday’s smash-and-grab victory by Barca at the Santiago Bernabeu gave them a slim lead heading into the second meeting at Camp Nou the following month.
The game-winning goal was scored by Franck Kessie in the 26th minute after Thibaut Courtois blocked his initial shot. Eder Militao assisted on the play.
Barca had the least amount of ball possession in a single game since Opta records began, with just 35.3% of the time, while Madrid dominated the other areas (2013-14 season).
Similarly, Barca had less than 50% of the ball in a game for just the third time since the beginning of last year.
Ancelotti was unimpressed by Barca’s performance and remains confident Madrid will reach the final, despite Los Blancos failing to get a single shot on target for only the third time in a decade.
“The team played well,” he told reporters. “Barcelona played like they didn’t want to play.
“We haven’t been good in the last third. Defeat hurts, but if we do the same in the second leg, we have a chance to progress.
“We played the game we had to play: pressing, playing with intensity. We lacked a goal, but they did nothing to score. They were lucky with the rebound. We have 90 minutes [to turn it around].”
He added: “We’ve failed, but we did not deserve to lose. But in 90 minutes we can score a goal in Barcelona.”
Despite the obvious frustration in his voice, Ancelotti was undoubtedly impressed with how Madrid managed to control the majority of the game, forcing Barca to play mostly on the edge of their own box.
“It’s a very bad result, undeserved, but it was a game well played on our part, with intensity and commitment.