Coach Ancelotti: 'Real suffers because of Kante'

Real could not include Kante in two empty situations in the penalty area, at Stamford Bridge on the evening of April 18. Fortunately for the Spanish team, the home midfielder all missed. Had Kante succeeded, Chelsea could have opened the scoring and steered the game in their favor, rather than conceding two goals from Rodrygo in the 58th and 80th minutes.

"We have difficulty with Kante's position," admitted Ancelotti. "It was very difficult to control him. In the second half, I put Federico Valverde on the left to control him better."

Ancelotti also appreciated the save by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois when facing Marc Cucurella at the end of the first half. He thinks that Cucurella could have changed the game if he had shot in. "Keeping the score 0-0 until the end of the first half is very important, because Chelsea do not maintain the same energy as they had initially," said Ancelotti.

Real's coach also gave a positive assessment of Chelsea's play, satisfied that Real reduced the intensity of the opponent's attack in the second half and made effective counter-attacks. In addition, Ancelotti reminded Rodrygo of the problem of being involved in defense, but was pleased that the 22-year-old striker scored twice and made a difference in his off-ball movements.

Winning the final 4-0, Real entered the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Bayern - Man City pair. In the first leg, Man City beat Bayern 3-0.

Besides the Champions League, Real also reached the final of the King's Cup against Osasuna. But in La Liga, they are at a loss because they are 11 points behind Barca after 29 La Liga matches from 2022-2023. "We have reached a very good point of the season," added Ancelotti. "We do well in many respects. Getting to the semi-finals is a success, because you are so close to a final and another championship."

Ancelotti is the most successful coach in Champions League history. He won two titles with Milan and two titles with Real. He had only lost one Champions League final in 2005: Milan lost to Liverpool 2-3 on penalties after drawing 3-3 in 120 minutes.