Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has admitted he is concerned about his team's performance following a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, which marked their second consecutive loss in all competitions, the first time this has happened in over three years.
The Spanish giants, who had suffered a humiliating 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in the Clasico just over a week ago, were once again outplayed on their own turf. The defeat highlighted defensive vulnerabilities and a lack of attacking strength, undermining last season’s championship-winning squad.
Ancelotti called on his players to respond quickly to avoid falling too far behind in the race for a top-eight finish in the 36-team Champions League standings, where they currently sit 17th with just six points after four matches.
While speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Ancelotti stated: "We have to be concerned, the team is not playing well.”
"The team is not compact, we need to be more compact, more organized, we've conceded a lot of goals. The team is not well organized on the pitch and we need to work on this.”
"We have to focus on what we have today, which is a team that is not at its best, and get back to our level so we can fight for all competitions."
Ancelotti recognized Real Madrid's lack of balance and defensive struggles, with the team having conceded nine goals in their last three home games.
Furthermore, He played down the boos directed at players like Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappe, who have faced heavy criticism from both fans and pundits for their recent performances. Ancelotti also emphasized that the team's problems are collective, rather than the result of individual shortcomings.
Ancelotti said: "It is not an issue of motivation or attitude, it's a collective thing that we need to fix quickly.”
"On the pitch something is missing and we have not been able to show our best version. We have to fix this, but the nights are going to be very long and we have to recover the solidity that we are lacking.
"That's the problem above all, we've conceded too many goals for a team that is built on solidity.
"We have to accept criticism and accept reality. We want to do better because it's very difficult to get to the end of the season like this. We have to defend better and we have to look for solutions, without going crazy after drastic changes.
"It's good that the players are down like I am. We can all think about how to improve our version. We are confident that this team will improve."
