Carlo Ancelotti appeared before the media after the Villarreal vs. Real Madrid game on league matchday 28: ”This team has something special, character and commitment. This isn’t always the case and I get angry with them. We have to thank these players for their monumental effort since January 3rd. Today is the last time we are going to play a game without 72 hours' rest. We twice asked LaLiga to change it and nothing happened“.
”We held out in the difficult moments: the start of the first and second halves. Then when we started to control the ball better, we looked for opportunities and both of Mbappé’s goals came in the first half. In the second half we wanted to counter-attack more”.
Proud of his players
“I'm very proud of my players because it was a tricky game because of everything that happened with our rest period and also because of the strength of the opposition, they are a team that play very well. We held up physically, in the second half the team was exhausted but that was to be expected. This victory says a lot about the team and the attributes that this squad has”.
If the 72 hours of rest were not respected, would Madrid not turn up for the game?
“No”.
Are you going to watch Atlético-Barcelona?
“It was important to win today. I'm going to watch it because it will be an entertaining game for a fan. And tomorrow I'm going to be a football fan”.