SEVILLE, Spain :Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was devastated as he felt his side should have taken more from Saturday’s 3-2 loss in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona where they conceded a late equaliser that led the game to extra-time, when their bitter rivals roared back to score a winner through Jules Kounde.
Real fought their way back into the game after being 1-0 down at halftime but saw Barca forward Ferran Torres snatch a goal in a counter attack in the 84th minute that gave the Catalan giants new life.
“We were close to winning and we conceded a strange goal very late … A ball at the back of the defence … But against Barca it can happen,” Ancelotti told a press conference in the early hours of Sunday.
“We tried until the end, we came close… The second half was very good, but that’s football. The match was evenly balanced. Barca were better in the first half, we were better in the second.
“There is nothing bad to say about the team who fought really hard. We competed very well. If we had won, it wouldn’t have been a scandal. We did great until we were shocked late…”
In a season in which they are struggling with inconsistency, Real Madrid are now left only with LaLiga as they bid to avoid a trophy-less campaign.
Last-year’s Spanish and European champions have been left licking their wounds after a humbling loss to Arsenal saw them exit the Champions League in the quarter-finals and are also battling against the odds to retain their LaLiga crown, with Barcelona in the driver’s seat.
Barca are at the top of the standings, leading by four points over Real with five matches to play, and they will host Real in a LaLiga clash that could decide the league title on May 11.
“We have competed and we will also compete at Barcelona in the upcoming LaLiga game. We will compete like we did tonight,” Ancelotti said.
“We have to keep competing for the league title. We played a level game and were very close to lifting the cup. I’m hurt for not being able to lift the cup, but I have nothing to reproach my players because we played the game we had to play.”
Ancelotti also dismissed talks about his future, with several reports linking him to the vacant Brazilian national team coaching job: “I can go on, I can stop, but it will be an issue for the next few weeks, not today…”
