With a 2-0 lead on away goals heading into Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League second leg against Schalke, most fans didn’t expect much stress in Real Madrid’s journey the quarterfinals.
But Roberto Di Matteo’s visitors showed great heart and came within a goal of toppling the 10-time UCL champions, winning 4-3 at the Bernabeu but losing 5-4 on aggregate.
[ MATCH RECAP: Real Madrid 3-4 (5-4) Schalke ]
Couple that with Real dropping out of the top slot in La Liga to hated Barcelona this weekend, and the home crowd was not happy with the slim win (although really, guys and girls?).
Ancelotti wasn’t, either. Or at least he couldn’t admit as much. Here are his thoughts on fans booing, whistling and even waving white handkerchiefs in faux surrender:
Ancelotti: ” The whistles from fans are totally deserved. This is going to motivate us more, for the next game.”
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) March 10, 2015
Ancelotti: “We must say it clear, we are playing very badly. It is pretty hard to understand, after what we did up to December. ” — Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) March 10, 2015
Ancelotti: “We’ve played very poorly, but we always try to honor the shirt.” — SocialRMadrid (@SocialRMadrid) March 10, 2015
Ancelotti: “We have lost our confidence and identity.” — SocialRMadrid (@SocialRMadrid) March 10, 2015
Ancelotti: “I have complete confidence in all my players. We will solve this problem.”
— SocialRMadrid (@SocialRMadrid) March 10, 2015
But can they solve it in a fortnight, with a potentially season- and title-defining El Clasico on the horizon?