Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted Real Madrid’s chances of reaching the Champions League semifinals are low after a stunning 3-0 loss against Arsenal in the quarterfinal first leg
LONDON — Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted Real Madrid’s chances of reaching the Champions League semifinals are low after a stunning 3-0 loss against Arsenal in the quarterfinal first leg, but stated that his side will try to pull it off in any way they can as "stranger things have happened at the Bernabeu".
Arsenal produced an emphatic second-half showing in north London to put themselves in a commanding position ahead of second leg in Madrid.
"It's a tough loss. We weren't expecting this. The team looked pretty good and well-organised in the first half. Following the two set-piece goals, the team dropped off both mentally and physically. It was a difficult end to the game because we didn't see the reaction we're used to seeing from this team.
"The final 30 minutes were very poor. There are two assessments here: one that I was satisfied up to 0-0, and the other following the reaction to their goals, which was really poor," Ancelotti said in a post-match presser.
“We have to do everything we can to try and recover. The chances are pretty slim but we have to try, and we'll try and do it any way we can. Let's see if we can pull it off. It feels as though there's no chance after tonight, but things always change in football. Nobody expected Arsenal to score two free kicks, but anything can happen. It's very tough, but stranger things have happened at the Bernabeu," he added.
Declan Rice wrote himself into Arsenal folklore with a pair of fabulous free-kicks, while Mikel Merino added the gloss to the scoreline to hand the Gunners a huge advantage to take to Spain next week as Mikel Arteta side aims to reach the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2009.
Speaking about Arsenal's performance, Ancelotti said, "They showed a better attitude, more quality and impressive fitness levels. They did a lot of things better than us and we have to be honest with ourselves. We weren't too bad for an hour, we played pretty well in the first half."