Ancelotti Comments on Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey Final Defeat to Barcelona

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti shared his thoughts on the team’s 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.

“It was a good match overall. The first half was challenging, but we performed much better in the second half. We had control of the game and came very close. We need to keep fighting. I have no complaints about the team’s effort. If we had won, it wouldn’t have been a surprise. In the second half, we were closer to victory than our opponents.”

Regarding Mbappe’s playing time, Ancelotti explained, “Mbappe couldn’t play the full 90 minutes, so I chose to bring him on for the second half when the overall pace of the game had slowed down a bit. He performed well and equalized the score.”

The Italian manager concluded, “We’re disappointed that we couldn’t lift the trophy, but I can’t fault the team’s performance.”

With this victory, Barcelona secured their 32nd Copa del Rey title, extending their record as the most successful club in the competition’s history. Athletic Bilbao follows with 24 titles, while Real Madrid has 20.