Ancelotti Hopes Betis Defeat Serves as Wake-Up Call for Real Madrid

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti warned his team to improve their performance after a 2-1 defeat to Real Betis in LaLiga, ahead of their Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes that his team's 2-1 defeat at Real Betis will serve as a wake-up call ahead of their Champions League Round of 16 tie. Ancelotti acknowledged that his side must improve their performance if they are to succeed in the European competition.

Saturday's loss at Real Betis dealt a significant blow to Real Madrid's LaLiga title aspirations, according to Ancelotti. The defeat meant that Real Madrid missed an opportunity to claim top spot in the league, instead remaining level on 54 points with leaders Barcelona. Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, are just one point behind in third place, although both Barcelona and Atletico have a game in hand.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was critical of his team's subpar performance at the Benito Villamarin stadium, warning that a similar display in their upcoming Champions League tie could have severe consequences. “This is a heavy blow, we have to bounce back. Losing at this point in the season is tough because everyone is on form and we didn't do well in this game,” Ancelotti told reporters.

Ancelotti emphasized the importance of improvement, particularly in their ball control, after losing 27 balls in the first half. “We lost 27 balls in the first half and Betis got back into the game. If we play like this, we certainly won't win on Tuesday,” he cautioned. The Italian coach hopes that this defeat will serve as a wake-up call for his team. “I hope this serves as a wake-up call. It seemed that lately we were more organised, more compact, and today we weren't able to do it like in the previous games.”

🎙️ @MrAncelotti: "We started well, but then we lost control of the game."
📺 Press conference ➡️ RM Play

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 1, 2025

Regarding his decision to substitute Kylian Mbappe with Endrick in the closing stages of the game, Ancelotti explained that the French forward had been struggling with a dental issue. “(Mbappe) had a problem this week and didn't train much and wasn't at his best level,” he said. Ancelotti opted to replace Mbappe with the Brazilian teenager Endrick, who has been in good form. “To avoid problems I took him off and put Endrick on, who has been in good form,” Ancelotti added.

Real Madrid will host Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before facing Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga next Sunday.