Carlo Ancelotti said he doesn’t know if Real Madrid‘s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday — which saw the reigning champions eliminated at the quarterfinal stage — was his last game in charge of Madrid in the competition.
Bukayo Saka had a first-half penalty saved by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, before putting Arsenal ahead in the 65th minute. Vinícius Júnior leveled two minutes later after a mistake from William Saliba, and Gabriel Martinelli netted in added time, as Arsenal progressed to the semifinals 5-1 on aggregate. Ancelotti, who has a contract until 2026, has faced criticism for Madrid’s performance this season — including two high-profile defeats to Barcelona — although the team remain in contention for the LaLiga title, and will face Barça in the Copa del Rey final.
“I don’t know,” Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference, when asked if the loss at the Bernabéu might be his final Champions League game with Madrid.
“It could be that the club decides to change. It could be this year, or next year when my contract ends. There’s no problem. The day I finish here, the only thing I can do is thank this club, it could be tomorrow, in a month, or in a year.”
Ancelotti said that he “hadn’t thought about” the possibility of resigning this summer, if he felt he’d taken the team as far as he could. The Italian acknowledged that Madrid — who were well beaten 3-0 in the first leg at the Emirates last week — had been deservedly eliminated, although he said a first-half penalty awarded to Madrid for a Declan Rice challenge on Kylian Mbappé, but then overturned after a VAR check, could have changed the outcome.
“Arsenal were better than us,” Ancelotti said. “It was important to have a moment, which might have been the penalty that they took away from us. That might have changed the dynamic of the tie. … In terms of attitude, the team today gave everything. But we haven’t always been able to do it. Compared to last year, we’ve lacked some collective attitude.”
Courtois said the players had “no problem” with Ancelotti, insisting that “there are no doubts about the boss.” “Sometimes you have to be self-critical,” Courtois told Movistar. “We’re a team, but sometimes maybe we have to play more as a team, and less as individuals. If they double-mark Vini or Kylian, it’s two-on-one. It might come off once, but not three, four or five times.”
Courtois praised Arsenal’s defense but argued Madrid had lacked a “natural center forward” like Joselu, who scored twice in the team’s dramatic semifinal win over Bayern Munich last season before leaving last summer.
“It’s difficult to find spaces,” Courtois said. “We put a lot of crosses in, but this year we don’t have a Joselu to win those duels, to be a natural center forward up front. We have to look at what we can do better. There’s a lot of season left.”
Madrid host Athletic Club in LaLiga on Sunday, and then Getafe midweek, before playing Barcelona in the cup final on April 26.–ESPN
