Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Real Madrid, survived an exciting European night at the Bernabeu, where his team rallied against Chelsea to secure a place in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League despite losing 3-2 after extra time in the second leg on Tuesday. Real Madrid advanced to the semifinals with a 5-4 aggregate score after five weeks of recovering from a goal deficit in the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, winning 3-1 to secure their advancement in the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 3-2.
Ancelotti told a press conference, "The more I suffer, the happier I am." "I suffered a lot. We were 2-0 down (against Chelsea), but I don’t think we deserved that; the team performed well. We weren't in a hurry to score; we didn't need to, but for me, Chelsea didn't deserve to lead 2-0."
Ancelotti praised his players for not giving up, even after falling 3-0 with fifteen minutes left in the match, before Rodrygo made the aggregate score 4-4, forcing extra time where Karim Benzema scored the decisive goal. The Italian coach said, "We won (the tie) because we had the energy to keep hope alive. The players were brave, and we played like warriors."
"It was a difficult match; we were aware of that, but it was more complicated. After Chelsea's second goal, the team suffered psychologically, but the magic of this stadium helps the players and the team a lot in not giving up."
Ancelotti mentioned that he needs to remain calm and assess the team on Wednesday to truly understand what happened. He praised Chelsea's ability to withstand pressure, adding that his team struggled more than usual due to the absence of Eder Militao, their best defender on set plays because of suspension.
He concluded, "We must be proud of what we accomplished; we faced a very tough challenge in the Round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain and now against Chelsea, the defending champions, to reach the semifinals, so I couldn't be happier."
