Defending champions Real Madrid suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Lille in their Champions League group stage match on Wednesday, with manager Carlo Ancelotti acknowledging that his team didn’t live up to expectations and must accept the criticism that follows.
Lille, playing with intense pressing throughout, secured the victory with a Jonathan David penalty just before half-time, ending Real Madrid’s unbeaten streak across all competitions, which had stretched back to January. The Spanish giants, who have won a record 15 Champions League titles, find themselves with three points after two matches, having previously won their opener against VfB Stuttgart. This loss marks an early setback in their quest to defend their title.
Speaking after the loss, Ancelotti said everything was bad from his team and they need to look at things with a cool head.
“Everything was pretty bad. We did badly with the ball, although the team was quite compact in the first half, it was difficult for us to recover the ball, it was difficult for us to make transitions,” Ancelotti told reporters.
“We tried to be a little more aggressive, but it was difficult for us. So… We have to look at things with a cool head, not throw everything away. But obviously we have to improve.”
“I am very sincere. The criticism for today’s game is fair, correct and we have to accept it because it is like that. We have not shown a good version in this game.”
Ancelotti also said that Lille deserved the win in the end, despite Madrid creating chances to level the scores.
“It was difficult for us to get into the game at the level of intensity, at the level of duels, at the level of clarity of play,” the Italian added.
“Obviously, the game could have been tied because we had opportunities at the end, but it wasn’t deserved.
“So we have to learn, as it happened the last time we lost a game, learn from what we have to improve, which is quite clear. I think it’s not very complicated.”
Madrid will next face Villareal on Saturday, October 5 in the LaLiga.
