Ancelotti: “It was a clever and solid performance” | OneFootball

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti addressed the media after the victory at Camp Nou in the first Clásico of the season. Our coach said: "The performance was clever and solid. We were very good defensively. We were able to play out from the back in the first half, we misplaced some passes but looked good on the counter-attack. We have quality in the team and we have to enjoy the win. I'm happy with the three points as it was a difficult match. Barcelona didn't make things easy, it wasn't a straightforward win".

"I'm happy to get the win because the Clásico is the most important game. We beat them here, we're happy, but unfortunately it's only three points. I don't like to speak about the other team, we came out and played well, and Barcelona, as I said before, put in a good performance and you can't fault them for anything".

Changes "Courtois had some pain and it looked like it could be something serious. He felt fine afterwards, it was time to make the last change and I had to wait in case I needed to change him instead of changing Carvajal. He was fine in the end and we got on with it. Alaba's not normally there when he plays as a centre-back. He strikes the ball really well, he found space and finished very well". “At this moment in time, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. are both starters. The players are used to playing, particularly the three midfielders. Rodrygo and Vini Jr  are doing a great job, both offensively and defensively, as is Asensio, who produced a fantastic bit of play and had a hand in the goal. The squad is in very good shape and the players are keen to play and that's all positive”.

Competing in Europe “We're capable of competing. The team is very solid and our aim is to become more solid as we move forward. That's what we plan to do, but we have to remember that we came up against a great team who put in a superb performance. We had to dig in, but we were able to do that together, and we didn't lose control of the game when we didn't have the ball and that’s also a positive”.

Second-half showing and Valverde’s knock “As I said, I've always got that fear. It's not something that terrorises me. Barça really pushed hard in the second half. We were disciplined in our own box and did well and they scored with the last move of the game when everyone thought that it was already over, which wasn't the case. The game is only over when the referee blows his whistle. I think that Valverde picked up a knock to his knee in a challenge with Piqué. We’ll have to take a look at that tomorrow”.