“We want to end the year with a win in front of our fans”

Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the press room at Real Madrid City to assess the clash between Real Madrid and Sevilla on LaLiga matchday 18 at Santiago Bernabéu (Sunday, 16:15 CET): “We are back at home after several away games. Finishing the year in front of our fans is exciting and we want to finish on a high. Sevilla are playing well and competing in every game, but we want to finish the year with a win.”

“There are lots of happy moments because it has been a great year, unforgettable. We can see a repeat of it if we are all able to give our best. The squad has an incredible level. The European Cup was the happiest moment , when we lifted the trophy after beating Borussia Dortmund. We haven’t lost many games, but the saddest moment was the defeat against Barcelona at the Bernabéu. I can’t ask Santa to not make any further criticisms 2025. Sometimes it is valuable, acceptable, and you can learn from it.’

Summary of the year
“I’d say it’s been excellent considering the difficulties we’ve had. We’ve won five titles and that’s great. Our aim next year will be the same: compete, fight and win the Champions League.”

Demanding calendar
“We could have taken a holiday after winning the Intercontinental Cup. We are going to play against opponents who compete very well. The new coach is doing a good job and it will be difficult. It is a risky game and we have to make the final push.”

Mbappé
“He’s pretty much settled now. He’s showing good form and he can still improve. He’s put in some good performances, he’s recovering from the little injury he had. He’s motivated and happy to be here . He had to take this time to settle like everyone else does, but he has now.”

Fight for LaLiga
“It will be a much more hard-fought game for the league than it has been in recent years. In addition to Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Atlético will also fight hard, they have the resources to compete. It will be entertaining until the end, and the league can easily be won with under 90 points this year.”

Press conferences
“Doing the press conferences is entertaining, I enjoy it. About 10% of the questions you ask are a bit unsolicited and difficult to answer. But overall I’d say we’ve had a good time and the press conferences haven’t been boring. The players’ schedule is the worst.”

Correct the details
“Sometimes we lose the ball unnecessarily given the quality the squad has. We are working on that because at times we tend to take risks when we shouldn’t.”

Full back position
“Mendy has recovered and he is ready for tomorrow. Alaba has started to train a little. He will be back with the group after the break and he will be able to play again in mid-January. Both full-backs have done a brilliant job following the injuries to our starting full-backs, Carvajal and Mendy. Lucas Vázquez and Fran García have done a great job after several games and have really helped the team. As for Valverde, I don’t plan to play him at full-back except in an emergency. Raúl also comes through there because he can do a job in certain matches.”

Confidence in Vini Jr. and Kaka
“I’ve given them the confidence. If you have a talented player and you give him confidence, that’s how you get the best out of them. You can’t instill confidence in every player in the same way. Sometimes you want to put a player in , when they don’t play at their best. That’s why it’s so hard to trust everyone. But at the end of the day, if they have the quality to be the best in the world, it will come through.”

Connection between Vini Jr., Rodrygo, Bellingham and Mbappé
“They haven’t played together too often because at times we’ve had injuries to Rodrygo or Bellingham. But they seem to fit together really well and adapt to each other’s qualities. Sometimes Mbappé has played on the left, sometimes comes Vini down the middle and others are Bellingham dropped out to the left. I’m not going to fix four of them in a single position, I’m going to give them the freedom to find the right position.”

“You have to try to find that mobility because it is a crucial aspect of our attacking game. I’m not asking Mbappé to be too involved in the build-up because his talents lie in running away from defenders. All I ask of him is to find more consistency. That’s what we encourage him to do, that’s what he should try to achieve. We have several players who can find him with that killer ball if he runs off his man.”