Suara.com – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti did not show panic even though his team had just lost to Barcelona in the first leg of the 2022-2023 Copa del Rey semifinals.
Ancelotti is even more optimistic that Los Blancos will advance to the Copa del Rey final by beating Barcelona in the second leg on April 6.
Duel Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, Friday (3/3/2023) early morning WIB ended with a score of 1-0 for the victory of the Catalan team. The Blaugrana won thanks to an own goal by Eder Militao in the first half.
Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (L) competes with Barcelona’s Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong during the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg match between Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on March 2, 2023.OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP.
In that match, Madrid actually appeared so dominant. In fact, Opta recorded Los Blancos possession of the ball reaching 64.7 percent, alias the highest during El Clasico since 2013-14.
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However, Madrid’s attack line appeared toothless. They were able to create 11 shots but none of them succeeded on target or on target.
According to Ancelotti, Karim Benzema and his friends showed a very good game against Barcelona, regardless of the final result, which was considered not to reflect the course of the match.
Real Madrid’s France forward Karim Benzema (center) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s French defender Jules Kounde during the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal match between Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on March 2, 2023. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP.
Ancelotti thinks Real Madrid just needs to replicate that slick performance while increasing effectiveness up front to be able to beat Barcelona in the second leg.
“It was a good match, intense, with a lot of pressure. They only had 35% possession,” Ancelotti said as quoted by Marca, Friday (3/3/2023).
“We were less effective in the final third. They were very strong in the top balls. It was the game we wanted, but not the result.”
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“That gives us confidence for the second leg. We have to repeat this performance at Camp Nou,” he added, calling Barcelona’s winning goal born of his own team’s mistake.
