Carlo Ancelotti highlights key issue against Girona – ‘Without it, it’s difficult for us to win games’

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was visibly grumpy with his team on Tuesday night after his side were humbled by Girona in a 4-2 defeat. Los Blancos were well beaten by Girona, with Taty Castellanos netting four times in just over an hour.

Ancelotti asked the fans for forgiveness after the game in both his television post-match, and in his press conference did th same.

“Tough night, to lose like that,” Ancelotti told Marca.

“At the defensive level it has been a bad game, that’s where the key has been. Today the team has not played and we tried to raise the level through individuals. It has been a very low level in all senses. The team was anxious.”

¿Es bueno este toque de atención para el Real Madrid?

🗨️ Ancelotti responde: “Sí, puede ser. El compromiso defensivo de este equipo es demasiado importante para tener éxito. Si no lo tenemos, este equipo tiene dificulta para ganar. Es la llave del éxito”. pic.twitter.com/K0Zq6vecPv

— Relevo (@relevo) April 25, 2023

Later in his press conference, Ancelotti was asked whether this match may serve as a useful wake-up call to focus the mind for his players. With La Liga unlikely to be within reach, Los Blancos will have one eye on the upcoming Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.

“Yes, could be. It’s never good to lose, but it could be useful. But I think that the defensive commitment is too important Without defensive commitment this team has problems winning games. If this team has defensive commitment, it wins every game. This is the key to success, we have extraordinary quality.”

“Today we didn’t have the usual defensive commitment. Before today, four clean sheets in a row, today, they scored four against us. This is something the players understand, they have understood it. If the players haven’t understood it, I’m going to repeat it every day.”

Ancelotti has been clear in the past that he prefers defenders who are pessimistic in their defending. In some part it is hard not to see this as a message not just to all of the Real Madrid team, but to Eder Militao. The Brazilian failed to mark Taty Castellanos on all four of their goals, with a carelessness uncharacteristic of his season.