Real Madrid Loses Super Cup Of Spain To Atlético Madrid
That had to hurt. Real Madrid lost the Super Cup of Spain to Atlético Madrid by an aggregate of 2-1 on Friday night. Manager Carlo Ancelotti attributes the defeat to “giving chances” to their arch rivals from across town.
After the draw at the Bernabéu, on Tuesday, things were not looking that great for Los Blancos, even if they have the most expensive roster in football. Atlético Madrid proved they can hold Cristiano Ronaldo and even James, and will be a force to reckon with during La Liga as they prepare to defend their title.
Diego Simeone’s team surprised everyone, including Real and Barcelona, when they steadily climbed to the top spot of the Spanish League towards the end of last season and never looked back. On Friday, we saw much of the same as they effectively stopped Los Blancos’ attempts to score.
Following their loss, disappointed Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke of the Super Cup of Spain’s second leg to reporters at the Vicente Calderon:
“In the first half we played to a high level, but in the second we gave Atlético more chances. We lost control of play, with a lot of long balls. It was difficult for us and for that I made changes. I changed the positions of the three central midfielders.
“We can consider that with this game last season finished. Last season Madrid won three titles. In this match we didn’t play well, but if you have to lose I would prefer this than Lisbon.”
Real Madrid’s loss comes after the richest club in the world — valued at $3.3 billion — spent exorbitant amounts of money to bring some of the best players in the world to its lineup. If having Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale wasn’t expensive enough, Real added Colombian star James Rodriguez and World Cup champ Toni Kroos to their roster in the off-season.
Los Blancos took the UEFA Super Cup, defeating Sevilla last week, to bring yet another trophy to the club’s impressive collection. However, the Super Cup of Spain eluded them, as Atlético is a much stronger team than Sevilla. Ancelotti has his work cut out for him moving forward as he tries to figure out what lineup works best with his new additions.
He acknowledged this during the presser after Real Madrid’s loss to Atlético:
“The new season is going to be interesting for us. We have a side full of quality and we are going to try and do what we did last year. None of us have spoken about winning six titles. We will try and win all the titles we can. Now we start a new season and are looking forward to it. There are every competitive sides to come, like Atético and Barcelona.”
Real Madrid will need to shake off the loss to Atlético and look forward to their first La Liga match of the season this coming Monday, when they face Córdoba at the Santiago Bernabéu.
[Image via Twitter]
