Real Madrid return to the Spanish capital with a slender lead ahead of the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off against Manchester City, having edged past the Cityzens at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland’s opener looked to be putting Pep Guardiola’s side on course for victory before Kylian Mbappé restored parity on the hour mark, and while Haaland doubled his tally from the penalty spot with ten minutes left to play, los Blancos stepped up and scored twice in six minutes to snatch the first-leg lead.
“It was a complete attacking performance from the team,” Carlo Ancelotti told reporters in his post-match press conference, “and we showed that with a little bit of sacrifice, we can do it. Everyone made sacrifices and the quality of this team is beyond doubt.”
“We couldn’t decide our qualification here, but we’ve made a small step. It was a good game and we’re happy with the result. We both had plenty of opportunities and from an attacking standpoint, they caused us problems. We have to prepare well for the second leg, but this game will give us strength and confidence for the next one.”
Vinícius Júnior registered the assist for Jude Bellingham’s winner in injury time, with the Brazilian taunted by the home fans ahead of kick-off with a Ballon d’Or tifo. The Real Madrid attacker was widely understood to be the recipient of the 2024 prize, but ultimately missed out as Manchester City’s Rodri took the prize instead.
Embed from Getty Images“If he saw the tifo, it was a great motivation for him,” Ancelotti said, adding that the 24-year-old “was dangerous, just like the other three in attack and created so much danger on the wings.”
There was plenty to be content with for Ancelotti, who previously suggested that he “wouldn’t like” to see his side come up against the Cityzens at this stage of the tournament.
“The season is really starting [to heat up] now and despite the challenges, we played a really good game and took a positive result. The back four had never played together, nor had they trained together. They were spectacular,” he explained.
“[Aurélien] Tchouaméni has been heavily criticised but he was spectacular. Raúl Asencio keeps surprising us with his maturity and [Fede] Valverde and [Ferland] Mendy were great too. We were able to get something good from a difficult time.”