Ancelotti refuses to blame the Real players for the heavy defeat in the Super Cup against Barcelona

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti dismissed the wave of criticism following his side’s 5-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

The defeat, which followed a 4-0 league defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu by their arch-rivals earlier in the season, led to a scathing assessment of Ancelotti’s tactics and the commitment of his players.

However, the experienced Italian coach remains indifferent to the criticism and refuses to place the blame on his players.

He said: “This is a press conference, not a debate, but I have held a discussion with my technical staff and players to find the best possible solutions.

“I don’t think this is the right place to open a discussion. I don’t follow the wave of criticism that one day you are the best and the next day you are the stupidest. Fortunately, thanks to my experience, I have a balance. I don’t think I’m the best, but I don’t think I’m the dumbest either.

“It was a step back, but we have to look forward because we are still in a good position in every competition.

“It hurt us a lot, but it didn’t sink us. It was obviously a bad game, we made a lot of mistakes. We analyzed it, evaluated it and found solutions.

🎙️ @MrAncelotti 🎙️
📺 Press conference ➡️ #RMPlay#LaCopaMola

— Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 15, 2025

A month ago we won the World Club Championship, and six months ago the Champions League. We compete. We lost one game, it was the final, it hurt, but it was only one game. We are doing well in every competition and we will continue to fight.”

Kylian Mbappe scored for Madrid in the match, although he was on the losing side.

The Frenchman had a good game in Saudi Arabia, prompting praise from Ancelotti, who says the forward just needed time to adapt to his new club.

He added: “All my players have my full support, especially those who are not showing their best form at the moment.

“He needed time to adapt to the team in order to physically show his best form. Now he is in the best form and the team has to take advantage of that.”

Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season.