Carlo Ancelotti hopes Real Madrid’s La Liga defeat at Real Betis on Saturday “wakes us up” ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
Madrid took an early lead in Seville through Brahim Diaz but goals from Johnny Cardoso and Isco either side of half-time secured victory for Betis and a continuation of Ancelotti’s side’s patchy league form, which has seen them pick up just five points from their last five La Liga matches.
They host city rivals Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg and Ancelotti insists that they will need to play much better if they are to advance past Diego Simeone’s side.
“If we play like this, we’re not going to win on Tuesday, that’s quite clear,” Ancelotti said.
“Hopefully this game will wake us up. It seemed to me that the team had been more organised and compact recently, and today we weren’t like we were in previous games.”
Real Betis 2 Real Madrid 1: Concerns as Ancelotti’s side lose crucial ground in title race
The loss at Betis followed a loss at Espanyol four weeks prior, while Ancelotti’s side also dropped league points against Atletico and Osasuna in that timeframe which has seen them slip from first to third in the standings.
On Saturday’s loss, Ancelotti said: “It started well, but after that we weren’t able to keep up the initial rhythm in terms of attitude and commitment. Betis played better than us and deserved to win.”
After their midweek game, Madrid return to La Liga action at home to Rayo Vallecano on March 9.
(Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)
