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Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has addressed his heated exchange with Barcelona’s coaching staff during Real Madrid’s recent 4-0 loss to their rivals in El Clasico. The heavy defeat at home left Real Madrid six points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga standings.
With the game level at halftime, Barcelona surged ahead in the second half as Robert Lewandowski scored twice within minutes, followed by goals from Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. After the final goal, Ancelotti was seen in a tense exchange, though he later clarified that his issue was not with Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick directly but rather with a member of Flick’s staff, whom Ancelotti accused of making disrespectful gestures towards the Madrid bench.
Ancelotti explained, “I wasn’t arguing with Hansi Flick; I was upset with one of his assistants. His behavior wasn’t professional.” Flick, on his part, downplayed the incident, remarking, “We celebrated the goal, but it’s a situation that can be discussed among adults.”
Ancelotti also defended his team’s performance, particularly Kylian Mbappe, who was frequently caught offside, leading to two disallowed goals. He commented, “We knew about their high line and tried to exploit it. Although Mbappe had his chances, things didn’t go our way.”
Reflecting on the loss, Ancelotti urged caution, saying, “We don’t need to discard everything. The game was tight until their first goal. Losing is difficult, but we’re not far off our performance levels from last season, where we also experienced a heavy defeat against Barcelona but went on to win La Liga and the Champions League.”
