Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said yesterday there was no excuse for his side’s slow start to the La Liga season after the team fought back to rescue a 1-1 draw at lowly Las Palmas on Thursday thanks to a Vinicius Jr goal late in the second half.
Ancelotti said he expected his team to play better together and blamed himself, saying that he needs to work harder and do a better job. “It is clear that we are struggling to find the soundness of last season. But we must not look for excuses. The schedule is tight and we have to recover quickly, because on Sunday we have another game,” Ancelotti told a news conference. “I need to have a clearer strategy, to give the players more clarity in what I want. It’s costing us more than we thought. We have to work and concentrate on the path we want to take.”
After only one win in three matches to start the season, last year’s La Liga and Champions League winners Real are fifth in the standings with five points, four behind leaders Barcelona. Ancelotti was asked about Kylian Mbappe, who joined Madrid in July from Paris St Germain but has yet to score in La Liga, but the coach refused to criticise individual players.
“Our game has been slow. There is not much mobility and the strikers are receiving the ball with the opposing teams already close. When we don’t have the ball, we leave too many spaces between the lines,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t think it’s a mental problem, because the team trains well. It’s just that sometimes you don’t find the best way to play.... Things are not going well and we have to fix it soon.”
Flick sees room for Barcelona improvement
Barcelona can still improve, despite starting the La Liga season with three wins out of three, new manager Hansi Flick said. Barca have opened up a lead at the top of the league standings on nine points, two ahead of second-placed Villarreal and three from Celta Vigo in third. A revamped Atletico Madrid and Real are fourth and fifth on five points.
“It’s going to be a long season and I’m not focused on the opponents. I’m focused on Barca, we’ve done well in the first three games and hopefully tomorrow we’ll be victorious,” Flick said ahead of today’s home game against Real Valladolid.
“The players are fit and rested, they are training really well and I’m pleased. We believe in our strength and in our idea of the game. Of course, there are many things we need to improve, like being focused from the start of the matches and not wait 10 minutes to get going. To be confident from minute one, that’s what I expect from the players. It sounds like something basic but it’s part of the hard core of our idea of the game. The quality of this team is sky high, fantastic.”
Barcelona had to fight back to win after conceding first-half goals at Valencia and at Rayo Vallecano and needed a late Robert Lewandowski winner to break the deadlock at home against Athletic Bilbao.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Saturday: Barcelona v Valladolid (1500), Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (1700), Espanyol v Rayo Vallecano (1715), Valencia v Villarreal, Leganes v Mallorca (1930)
Sunday: Alaves v Palmas, Osasuna v Celta Vigo (1500), Sevilla v Girona (1700), Getafe v Real Sociedad (1715), Real Madrid v Real Betis (1930)
