Ancelotti defiant despite recent struggles

During a month in which your club has fallen five points behind your title rivals Barcelona, not to mention losing 3-1 to them in the Spanish Super Cup final, Carlo Ancelotti would have been forgiven for a downbeat reflection. Typically though he remains focused on the bigger picture in defiant nature.

He said “It was one of our best performances this season. It was difficult to make substitutions because everyone was playing so well and I made them in order to bring fresh legs on. We played well from start to finish. The way we press from the start, didn’t allow Real Sociedad to play the way they wanted to play. We pressed high and with intensity. We played well with the ball and we worked hard without it. We created a lot of chances to get the goal, but luck wasn’t on our side. That can happen”.

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Questions over the title race were inevitably going to be asked. Last season’s double winners haven’t looked as sharp and despite Ancelotti’s positive words, it cannot be ignored that it’s more lost ground to Barcelona.

Unsurprisingly though the Italian was unphased proclaiming “If we get a win on Thursday, we will have picked up more points than we did last year. Barcelona are doing very well, but it’s a long season. It’s been a tough January, but the team has improved a lot in all areas: in attack, defence, the physical side… The team is improving and we’ve got some injured players coming back this week. We’re confident about the coming months”

A manager with supreme confidence is always positive and in a way it feels criminal to write off Real Madrid. They thrive under chaos, last season’s Champions League campaign proved that much (as much as the Liverpool side of me hates to admit). Having said that though, Barcelona look like a different animal this year, as if the sleeping giant has been released from the cage. At times the football from Xavi’s side has been beautiful and reminiscent of the team that he was a part of in his playing days.

It has the writing on the walls of a thrilling end to the season in Spain. Ask me? Barcelona will lift the title. Ask Ancelotti? A disagreement of course. Who should ask? It’s pretty obvious surely.