Admits Real Madrid Won Hard, Ancelotti: A Competitive Battle

Carlo Ancelotti (Twitter.com/@MrAncelotti)

Carlo Ancelotti stated that Real Madrid brought home a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig with great difficulty, from the first leg of the Champions League last 16 at the Red Bull Arena, Wednesday morning WIB.

"It was a win that was achieved hard," Ancelotti said on the official UEFA website, Wednesday, quoted by Antara.

Los Galacticos won thanks to Brahim Diaz's single goal in the 48th minute, amid many injured players, including Jude Bellingham, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, defender David Alaba, Nacho Fernandez and Eder Militao.

"The game was a competitive battle but I know my team is ahead, we defended very well despite losing important players," said the former AC Milan and Chelsea coach.

Diaz, who was the cover for Jude Bellingham who was sidelined due to injury, admitted Real Madrid did not play optimally, especially in attack.

He considered Los Blancos passing too many balls but minimal executions so he took the initiative to shoot himself.

Based on statistics, Real Madrid only fired three shots on target at Peter Gulacsi's goal.

"We have a chance to end the match, but of course, so does Leipzig. This is definitely a good game to watch, but it becomes useless if we only play by passing the ball," he said.

Apart from Diaz, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was also the key to Real Madrid's victory thanks to nine saves made by the Ukrainian goalkeeper, including when Benjamin Sesko's strike from a counterattack.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose praised his team for playing bravely against Real Madrid's caliber team.

"My team is brave. We are implementing a lot of things we want to do, such as taking care of Vinpresentius. After halftime, we conceded for giving him too much space. You have to take a goal like that. We ourselves have a good chance and it should be sharper," he said.

Real hosted the second leg on March 6, according to the UEFA website.