LALIGA SANTANDER
Real Madrid win: Vinicius and Ancelotti have their say
After another positive result away from home, Los Blancos' manager and star player spoke to the media, with 'confidence' being a key factor on current form.
Following a huge win over their eternal rivals Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Real Madrid couldn’t break the deadlock at home against Osasuna midweek. Saturday afternoon, however, gave Los Blancos the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways and they duly did so.
Ancelotti: "I'm no magician" when it comes to Vini
After the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti and the player of the moment, Vinicius Jr, spoke to the media about the 1-2 victory at Elche.
WIth top marksman Karim Benzema absent, the Italian was asked about another striker who was missing.
“Jovic had a knee problem,” he replied. “He wasn't fit. But Mariano played very well."
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And on the young Brazilian who has emerged as a match winner this season, Carlo played the modesty card.
“Vinicius' breakthrough? I’ve not done anything. I'm not a magician; I'm just playing him and giving him all the confidence I have.”
Some doubts had been posed about the level of intensity Madrid could reach, given the amount of fixtures recently.
"We couldn't play with much intensity,” Ancelotti explained, “because we in the last couple of days we haven’t been able to completely recover.”
But he was pleased with his team’s efforts…
"I have real players on the pitch, not just ordinary people. They are really professional and know that their time will come.”
After scoring two very nice goals to put Madrid ahead, Vinicius pointed to his modest manager as a reason for his uptick in form.
“I’m really happy with what I have been doing since the start of the campaign,” the Brazilian began. “I just want to continue in this vein until the end of the season.
“Ancelotti gives us lots of confidence. I keep working hard and keep listening to those around me. It's important to have confidence.”
And on that little joke with Modric after scoring...
"Modric always asks me to play without the ball, that the ball is going to come. Before the game Modric asked me to do that, and during the game it went very well and I was able to score two goals."