Ancelotti Calls for Real Madrid Reaction after Consecutive Losses

Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
TT

Ancelotti Calls for Real Madrid Reaction after Consecutive Losses

Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti wants a positive reaction from his side after they suffered losses against Barcelona in LaLiga and AC Milan in the Champions League, as the team prepare for Saturday's league clash against Osasuna.

After a humiliating 4-0 home defeat by Barca, Real were again dominated at their own ground, falling to a 3-1 loss to Milan in a display that exposed last season's Champions League winners' poor defending and lack of firepower.

Ancelotti's side sit second in the league standings with 24 points from 11 matches, nine points behind leaders Barcelona, who have played a game more.

"Osasuna are doing very well, playing brave football and well positioned in the table," Ancelotti told reporters, Reuters reported.

"We see tomorrow as a great opportunity to get back to doing things right... at this moment in time, which is obviously difficult. We have a chance to get back to our best.

"We have analysed the situation. We think we have found the solution, but it has to be seen in practice. We want to see a different version tomorrow. I see the team united, motivated and aware. But we have to wait until tomorrow to see if we act in the right way."

The Italian was confident forward Kylian Mbappe, 25, would return to his best form.

Mbappe, who joined from Paris St Germain in June, has been playing a more central role at Real than he was accustomed to at the Ligue 1 club and has scored just once in his last six games in all competitions.

On Thursday, the France captain was also left out of his country's squad to face Israel and Italy in this month's Nations League games, stretching his absence in the national team to four matches.

"He's training well, he's going through a difficult moment... like each one of us. And like all of us, he has to think that this is an opportunity, that if he is clever he can get through it, but it requires more concentration and attitude," Ancelotti said.

"This is a strong, motivated group and the biggest club in the world. This is the best place to get through difficult times. And I am convinced that we will," he added.



PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
TT

PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra

Paris Saint-Germain retained a six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a labored 3-0 home win over Toulouse on Friday.
The defending champion dominated the first half but it took until the 35th minute to open the scoring.
Young Portuguese midfielder João Neves spun to meet a cross from the right and struck a superb half volley from just outside the box.
Lucas Beraldo got a second with six minutes remaining when he pounced on loose ball and fired home, The Associated Press reported.
Vitinha made it 3-0 in stoppage time when he showed fine footwork inside the box to finish off a quick counterattack.
The scoreline was harsh on Toulouse, which came into the game in a more even second half.
Only Vitinha’s last-gasp tackle stopped Zakaria Aboukhlal from equalizing after 69 minutes and then Shavy Babicka blazed over from close range a minute later when he should have hit the target.
The win was a confidence boost for Luis Enrique’s side ahead of next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at Bayern Munich.
PSG lies in 25th place in the 36-team Champions League table with one win in four matches and outside the playoff spots.
Monaco beats Brest: The win came immediately after second-placed Monaco beaten Brest 3-2 to briefly close the gap at the top to three points.
Brest, which faces Barcelona next week in the Champions League, turned in another inconsistent French league performance and not the sparkling form it has shown in Europe.
Brest has struggled in Ligue 1, where it remains 12th, but shone with three wins from four in its first ever Champions League campaign.
It was behind after just five minutes on Friday when Maghnes Akliouche scored with a superb airborne volley, and 2-0 down after 24 minutes thanks to Aleksandr Golovin.
The Russian striker seized on a poor pass just outside the Brest penalty area and his low shot was perfectly placed to sneak in off the post and give him his first goal in nine league appearances.
On-loan Brighton striker Abdallah Sima used his 1.88-meter frame to outjump the Monaco defense four minutes into the second half and cut the deficit but Akliouche restored Monaco’s two-goal cushion when he brilliantly finished a quick counterattack in stoppage time.
Ludovic Ajorque got a second for Brest in the sixth minute of added time but it was not enough in a second half most notable for the red card shown to Brest coach Éric Roy.