Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti insisted his side knew how to beat Liverpool following the Spanish side’s Champions League success.
The La Liga giants edged past their Premier League opponents at the Stade de France on Saturday evening as Brazilian starlet Vinicius Junior netted the winning goal. The victory made Ancelotti the most successful coach in the history of the Champions League having claimed his fourth title whilst leading Real to their 14th in all.
It is highly unlikely that any run to the trophy would have been more difficult in recent times with Los Blancos having found a way past Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City en-route to the final before coming up against Jurgen Klopp ’s Liverpool.
It was actually the Merseysiders that dominated large swaths of the game on the night, having created the better of the chances. However, they came unstuck after Vinicius netted from what was Real’s first shot on target of the clash, whilst Thibaut Courtois was in stunning form in the Spaniard’s goal.
Ancelotti has now claimed that preparing to come up against the Reds was ‘easier’ compared to some of his side’s prior opponents this season.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Italian schemer said: “Looking back, people said oh PSG were unlucky, Chelsea were unlucky, Manchester City were unlucky, this was practically the only game where people thought we were more or less on the same level.
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“I think it helped that Liverpool were easier to decipher than the others, because they have a very clear identity and we could prepare the way that we did. We knew what strategy to take, don’t give them space behind the defence to run into.
“Perhaps our football wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful tonight on an aesthetic level, but playing out from the back to incentivise their pressing wasn’t a great idea.
“We had a few more long balls, then when their press in our half of the pitch lessened, we got to control the ball more especially in the second half.”
Whilst Liverpool’s hopes for a cup treble evaporated against the Spanish giants in Paris, Reds’ boss Klopp has already claimed that his side will be back challenging in the Champions League next season. His side of course already claimed the FA and Carabao Cups this season and were still in contention for an unprecedented quadruple up until last week as Man City claimed the Premier League crown on the final day of the season.
Speaking after their slender defeat, he said: "I have a strong feeling we will come again. The boys are competitive. We will have an outstanding group next season. Where's it [the final] next season? Istanbul? Book the hotel."
