The Whites saw their title ruthlessly snatched from them in Jeddah, thanks to the Blaugrana’s 5-2 victory.
The Catalans dominated the entire match, with Ancelotti facing questions over the standard of some players as his side struggled to compete with their Clasico rivals.
Ancelotti has made a series of changes, with his lack of squad depth evident in Saudi Arabia, but he has refused to make excuses as the campaign enters its second half. “You have to defend well to win these matches. Barcelona deserved to win, they defended better than us,” he said at the end of the match.
Ancelotti praises Mbappé
“The team doesn’t look good, but I’m not going to point the finger at anyone. Mbappé had a good match, he was probably the only one, he scored a goal. I’m not going to name names, but we weren’t good from the first minute and we didn’t perform well. »
Ancelotti refused to say whether the match would impact his plans for the January transfer window after previously indicating he would not move for new players.
Real Madrid have a busy few weeks ahead, including a midweek Copa del Rey round of 16 and two Champions League matches to decide whether they reach the last 16.
