Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t get ruffled easily. One eyebrow raises. He avoids controversy when speaking. Real Madrid hardly gives the nonchalant Italian a reason to show any displeasure as it churns out titles.
Until, that is, the defending European champion flops to a 1-0 defeat at modest Lille.
“It’s sport and you can lose, but we didn’t give a good account of ourselves,” Ancelotti added. “That’s what worries me the most, but we have all the resources to learn from this defeat and do better. We have to put things right fast because we have another game on Saturday.”
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Real Madrid has a home game against a surging Villarreal. Madrid is second in La Liga, three points behind Barcelona, but Villarreal is one point behind in third and has one of the hottest scorers in Spain.
Even with Kylian Mbappé trying to play savior as a substitute, Madrid was unable to find an answer to Lille striker Jonathan David ’s penalty in first-half stoppage time. It was Madrid’s first loss in the competition since falling at Manchester City 4-0 in the 2023 semifinals.
Madrid’s first defeat in 11 games overall this season came after drawing at Atletico Madrid 1-1 in La Liga last weekend.
Ancelotti blamed his entire squad for the poor showing, and asked for more from his attacking players.
“It’s difficult to evaluate (the Lille) game. We did everything wrong; with the ball, in transition, intensity, we lost the duels. We have to look at things with a calm mind,” Ancelotti said. “Possession was slow and we lacked ideas. We have forwards who need to play more directly than usual and if you play slowly it’s a problem.
“This defeat can also be a huge wake-up call.”
Ancelotti has a problem that any other coach would love to have: How to fit Vinícius Júnior and Mbappé, who both like playing on the left, in a lineup that also includes Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham, the team’s top scorer from last season.
After mixing and matching different players in a three-man attack to start the season, Ancelotti went with a two-man front against Atletico and Lille. That included Endrick against Lille, making the 18-year-old the youngest starter ever in the Champions League for the club.
“I’m very happy about that, but not about the defeat,” Endrick said. “It was a tough match. Lille played well and we found it hard.”
Marcelino García Toral has Villarreal playing like a top-four side with just one loss in eight rounds. It has the second-best road record of the season after taking 10 points from a possible 12.
Newcomer Ayoze Pérez has six goals for Villarreal and trails only Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski with his seven in the competition.
Villarreal is the last team in all competitions to have won at the Santiago Bernabeu when it beat Madrid 3-2 in April 2023.
“Now that they have lost a game it looks like they are on a bad run, but it is just one game,” Villarreal left back Sergi Cardona said. “Madrid is Madrid and is always a complicated rival. We have to focus on ourselves and keep up our good play. We are able to play a good game there and get a good result at the Bernabeu.”
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