Real Madrid crossed to the semi-finals with a 5-4 victory on the total score, 5 weeks after recovering from a goal delay in the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, to win 3-1 and decide his qualification in the round of 16 3-2 on the aggregate score.
Ancelotti told a news conference: “The more I suffer, the happier I am. I suffered a lot. We were 2-0 down (against Chelsea) but I think we didn’t deserve it, the team did well. We were not in a hurry to score, we didn’t need it, but For me, Chelsea did not deserve to lead 2-0.”
Ancelotti praised his players for not giving up, even after trailing 3-0 with a quarter of an hour left before Rodrygo made the aggregate score 4-4 to force extra time in which Karim Benzema scored the decisive goal.
The Italian coach said: “We won (the confrontation) because we had the energy to keep its hopes. The players were brave and played like warriors. It was a difficult match, we knew that, but it was more complicated. After (Chelsea)’s second goal, the team suffered psychologically, but the magic This stadium helps the players and the team a lot not to give up.”
Ancelotti said he needed to calm down and assess the squad on Wednesday to understand what really happened.
Ancelotti praised Chelsea’s ability to withstand pressure and said his team had suffered more than usual after Eder Militao, the best defender on set pieces, was suspended.
He added, “We have to be proud of what we did, we had a very difficult match in the last 16 against Paris Saint-Germain and now against champions Chelsea to go to the semi-finals, so I couldn’t be happier.”
