Real Madrid was forced to fight back in a frustrating 1-1 draw with 10-man rivals Atletico Madrid, and Carlo Ancelotti admitted it will be “difficult” for Los Blancos to win LaLiga.
When Atleti substitute Angel Correa was controversially dismissed with Saturday’s derby tied at 0-0, Madrid would have liked their chances of closing the gap on league leaders Barcelona to five points.
Atleti then appeared to be heading for a memorable victory when Jose Gimenez gave them the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu, but late in the game, 18-year-old forward Alvaro Rodriguez saved Madrid’s face.
Ancelotti is aware of the difficulty of Madrid’s task given that the draw gives Barcelona the opportunity to extend their lead to 10 points when they travel to Almeria on Sunday.
Asked about the title race by DAZN, Ancelotti said: “It was already very difficult before this match, now it’s more. We are going to fight until the end, that’s what I can say.
“We lacked a bit of freshness. But mentally more than physically. At 1-0, it took us 10 minutes to compose ourselves, to reposition ourselves.
“In the first half there was a lack of intensity and in the second, we reached it at the end, but we didn’t fully take advantage of the numerical superiority.”
However, Ancelotti did reserve praise for Alvaro, who became the youngest player to score in a Madrid derby in LaLiga this century (aged 18 years and 226 days).
“It was very important for him, a young man with an enormous dream of playing for Real Madrid,” Ancelotti said of the Uruguayan forward. “This will be a special night in his life.”
1 – Two different Uruguayan players (Álvaro Rodríguez and José María Giménez) have scored in a derby between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid in LaLiga for the first time in the 21st century. Equality. pic.twitter.com/ofGwFN6pwi
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 25, 2023