Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti took responsibility for his team’s slow start to the La Liga season, acknowledging their struggles to find the same form that brought them the league and Champions League titles last year. Despite a late goal from Vinicius Jr rescuing a 1-1 draw against Las Palmas, Ancelotti highlighted the team’s lackluster performance and expressed his need to improve his approach.
Ancelotti emphasized that the team’s struggles stemmed from a lack of clarity and fluidity in their play, blaming himself for not providing the players with a clearer strategy. “It is clear that we are struggling to find the soundness of last season. But we must not look for excuses,” he stated at a post-match press conference. “The schedule is tight and we have to recover quickly, because on Sunday we have another game.”
He attributed the team’s sluggishness to a lack of mobility and the strikers receiving the ball under pressure from opposing defenses. “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,” he explained. “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.”
Ancelotti also addressed the question of Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid in July from Paris St Germain but has yet to score in La Liga. However, he refrained from singling out individual players, focusing instead on the team’s collective performance. The draw left Real Madrid fourth in the standings with five points, trailing leaders Barcelona by four points, following a disappointing start to the season with only one win in their first three matches.
