Coaches satisfied with draw
16 April 2015 1:29 AM GMT
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was half satisfied as his side avoided defeat for the first time this season away to Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal was the seventh Madrid derby of the season and Real have yet to beat their neighbours this campaign, although the 0-0 draw on Tuesday night leaves Ancelotti’s men as slight favourites to progress.
The Real coach said he considered 0-0 to be the “best of the bad results” his side could have got, but despite missed chances, he was pleased with their display. “The first half was fantastic as we played with a lot of impetus but the second half was more even. It is not a great result but we are confident for the return leg for what we were able to do in the game,” said Ancelotti. Real’s best chance fell to Gareth Bale in the fourth minute but the Welshman’s effort was brilliantly saved by Atletico keeper Jan Oblak. Ancelotti refused to criticise Bale and preferred to focus on the positives.
“Everyone did a great job in attack and there was great movement off the ball. But it was small things that stopped us scoring. I hope we play the same next week in the Bernabeu. Atletico are one of the best sides in the world in defending and so it is hard to score and Oblak did a great job,” he added. Meanwhile Atletico boss Diego Simeone refused to criticise the referee, saying he rather “talk about the game, where our rival played well”. “Real were better in the first half but I’d rather look on the way we changed our play between the first and second half,” said Simeone.
The Atletico pitch highlighted how his players reacted after being second best for the first 45 minutes and pressed Real hard in the closing minutes. “We have an intelligent side who were able to react to what happened in the first half. The tie is where is it. It’s a draw, they are at home and play at home in front of their fans but we will be very calm when we go there,” he said.
The Real coach said he considered 0-0 to be the “best of the bad results” his side could have got, but despite missed chances, he was pleased with their display. “The first half was fantastic as we played with a lot of impetus but the second half was more even. It is not a great result but we are confident for the return leg for what we were able to do in the game,” said Ancelotti. Real’s best chance fell to Gareth Bale in the fourth minute but the Welshman’s effort was brilliantly saved by Atletico keeper Jan Oblak. Ancelotti refused to criticise Bale and preferred to focus on the positives.
“Everyone did a great job in attack and there was great movement off the ball. But it was small things that stopped us scoring. I hope we play the same next week in the Bernabeu. Atletico are one of the best sides in the world in defending and so it is hard to score and Oblak did a great job,” he added. Meanwhile Atletico boss Diego Simeone refused to criticise the referee, saying he rather “talk about the game, where our rival played well”. “Real were better in the first half but I’d rather look on the way we changed our play between the first and second half,” said Simeone.
The Atletico pitch highlighted how his players reacted after being second best for the first 45 minutes and pressed Real hard in the closing minutes. “We have an intelligent side who were able to react to what happened in the first half. The tie is where is it. It’s a draw, they are at home and play at home in front of their fans but we will be very calm when we go there,” he said.
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