Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Atletico Madrid used dirty tactics during Sunday’s 2-2 derby draw at the Vicente Calderon Stadium..
Koke and Gabi were on target for the hosts, while Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored for the Whites but Ancelotti believes the physicality of the game overshadowed the football.
“Atletico tried to play a violent match, not our style,” he told reporters. “Our response was just to play, to think only of playing and not other things.
“We must take the draw. It was a difficult game. We tried to play but it was not so easy.
“Our second half was very good. In the first half we tried to defend high up but we let Atletico back into the game.
“Atletico had more difficulty in the second half because we moved the ball across our front line, left to right.
“We were not patient in the first half. They got tired in the second.
“We lost the ball too easily in the first half, that’s why Atletico could get into the game.”
Real Madrid remain in first place with 64 points, just one point of Barcelona, who defeated Almeria 4-1 on Sunday night.
However, Ancelotti believes his side did well to fight to what should be a valuable point away from home.
“We’ve drawn a game we were losing. We can be happy with that,” he added. “Atletico are a great team, especially at home.
“Now we are leading the table and we’ve got seven more home games and five away, so we must consider this as well.”
Source: MTNFootball
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