Ancelotti talks Jacobo, Tchouameni, Vallejo, La Liga title race after Real Madrid 2-1 Mallorca | OneFootball

Until the 94th minute of Real Madrid’s game last night, Barcelona looked set to be crowned champions. After all, Los Blancos were on the verge of settling for a draw and handing the Catalans the two points they needed.

A stunning last-gasp goal from Jacobo Ramon, however, turned everything and helped Real Madrid take all three points. The pressure is now on Barcelona who must win the Catalan derby to close the title race.

The Merengues did not have it easy against Mallorca given their long injury list and recent defeat to Barcelona that all but crushed their hopes in the league. Yet, they did find the required resources to ultimately take home the win.

Ancelotti’s thoughts

Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with the performance. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Speaking to the media after his team’s comeback win over Mallorca on Wednesday night, Carlo Ancelotti praised his men and called the result a deserved one.

“The team has fought a lot in the game and has played with intensity, especially in the second half. Absolutely deserved victory. Everyone has made a great effort and we are happy because we want to end the season well.”

Elaborating on how his team went behind on the night and were then forced to chase Mallorca throughout the game, he added,

“The game has not started well, but then the team has done very well in every way. They haven’t lowered their arms despite the difficulty.”

Ancelotti also made it a point to praise his squad for digging deep despite the long injury list and securing a much-needed win.

“Having 12 injured players is quite rare and we have been able to make up for these casualties of very important players with a good collective attitude.”

“I have never seen a team that shoots 40 times on goal like we have done today,” he added.

The Italian coach was then asked how it felt to be on the sidelines at the Santiago Bernabeu for the penultimate time in his career, to which he said,

“Whenever I sit on the Bernabeu bench it’s something special. It has been a special night like all the others.”

“The team has been amazing tonight. We have been able to make an extraordinary effort. If we had done it in all the games, it could have been a better season,” added in retrospection.

On the title race

For Ancelotti, the title race is still not over. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The press then asked the Real Madrid coach if he believed that his team still had a chance in the title race.

“We want to do our thing, which is to win the next games and see what happens. Today’s duty was not to give away the League.”

“They (Barcelona) will have to play tomorrow. In soccer, anything can happen. If they win, we congratulate them and, if not, we continue in the fight,” he added.

Real Madrid have carved out a reputation of never being out of the game despite the odds, and last night they pulled off another stellar winner in the last minute of the game.

“The day I leave Real Madrid I will do it with the peace of mind of having done everything I could do. I had a great time. Soccer doesn’t end and hopefully, my teams can try to win until the last second, as we have always done here,” Ancelotti said about his team’s mentality.

Real Madrid had 40 shots on target on the night but scored only twice, and Ancelotti then broke down why there was such a massive discrepancy.

“At an offensive level, we have done well. It has cost us a little more due to the fact of not having a high striker. In this type of game, you suffer a little more to win.”

“But the weakness has not been above. We have conceded too many goals this season for many reasons. First, that we have missed almost the entire season four or five defences,” he added on where his team lacked.

Dressing room environment

Ancelotti cancelled any issues in the dressing room. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Ancelotti then delved into the topic of his treatment in the dressing room and whether there was any divide in the dressing room after the team’s poor season.

“The management of the group has been quite simple. On a personal level, there has been no problem. All the players have had the necessary respect for me. The problems we have had have not been for that reason.”

“We have lacked balance on the field and we have been penalized a lot by injuries and we have not been able to fix the emergency as we did last season,” he added, insisting that the problem was purely sporting.

Speaking on Jesus Vallejo who came on for the final 30 minutes, Ancelotti explained why the Spaniard was largely frozen out of his plans.

“He has played very little but his attitude has always been top every day and in all training sessions.”

“It could be that he deserved to play more, but it was complicated because, as I have said other times, we have preferred to give priority to young people, like Asencio,” he added.

Update on recoveries

Ancelotti said Tchouameni will return. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Ancelotti also praised the young academy talent Victor Munoz who faced the heat in recent days after missing a big chance against Barcelona.

“I talked to him and I saw him a little affected after the Classic. I told him that he didn’t have to think about what he had failed, but think about maximising the next one.”

“That’s what a young person has to think. In soccer, he fails. They have all failed, even the biggest ones. The next opportunity that comes to him, because he is a very good player, that the goal,” he added.

Finally, the coach was asked how many players he would recover for the next league clash, to which he said,

“Tchouameni, for sure. The doubts are Vini Jr., Lucas, Brahim and Lunin, who yesterday were trampled on his hand and he can recover. I hope we can recover four.”

Source: Real Madrid website