Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared to encourage fans whistling himself and Aurelien … [+] Tchouameni during his side’s 5-2 Copa del Rey last 16 win over Celta Vigo on Thursday.
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Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti appeared to encourage fans whistling himself and Aurelien Tchouameni during his side’s 5-2 Copa del Rey last 16 win over Celta Vigo on Thursday.
Ancelotti is under fire after losing the Spanish Super Cup final by the same score to bitter rival FC Barcelona last weekend.
And though his side blew a 2-0 win to force extra time, it responded strongly after that humiliation and guaranteed qualification to the quarterfinals thanks to a brace from Endrick completed on either side of a Fede Valverde volley in the fixture’s additional 30 minutes.
Just like in November at half time of a Champions League loss to AC Milan, Tchouameni was whistled and jeered by fans in the Bernabeu as was Ancelotti.
Reminded about this at full time, Ancelotti said that such treatment is “a wake-up call from the fans”.
“It’s acceptable for what happened against Barcelona. Tchouameni played a great game,” he added.
Asked what it is like to be in the stadium when the crowd puts pressure on a manager and one of his players, Ancelotti reiterated that the jeers were a “wake up call”, but “when the game got complicated, they pushed us and that’s special”.
About Tchouameni, who was whistled on his first touch, Ancelotti said the Frenchman “has character”, and “has returned to his position”.
“He helped defensively, which is a lot for the centre-backs. He’s good at pressing, and supports well.”
On whether youngsters Endrick and Arda Guler have been treated unfairly with their lack of minutes, Ancelotti pointed out that the Brazilian “has already spoken on the matter”.
“Endrick has shown his quality, he has an extraordinary shot. Guler came on in the game when it started to get difficult and showed character,” Ancelotti also stated.
Though he was happy to stay alive in the competition, Ancelotti wasn’t pleased about “bad positioning” in the Celta goals.
“We try to train not to make these kinds of mistakes and not to slow down,” he said.
“When the game was almost over, we gave away two goals and opened it up. It was a good game until the 70th minute, and then we gave them two gifts. But the reaction came in extra time and everything has gone well,” Ancelotti concluded.
