Ancelotti Stays Calm over Future amid Real Madrid Turmoil

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti holds a press conference, in Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2025. (EPA)
Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti holds a press conference, in Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2025. (EPA)
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Ancelotti Stays Calm over Future amid Real Madrid Turmoil

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti holds a press conference, in Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2025. (EPA)
Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti holds a press conference, in Madrid, Spain, 12 April 2025. (EPA)

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has urged patience over questions about his future, insisting everything will be resolved at the end of the season as he looks to steady the team following their heavy Champions League defeat at Arsenal.

After Real's 3-0 loss in the quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, Ancelotti’s position as head coach is once again in the spotlight, with the Italian enduring heavy criticism for his side's disappointing performance.

The Italian's contract at Real runs through to the end of next season.

"I shouldn’t talk about things about my future, because the contract is quite clear. Whatever it is, it will be talked about at the end of the season," Ancelotti told reporters on Saturday.

"The club always supports me, especially in difficult moments."

With a three-goal deficit to overturn at home on Wednesday, Ancelotti believes his side can mount a comeback.

"Every defeat is always the same. When you lose, it’s a difficult time. You have to think about how to bounce back. Concentrate. But fortunately, football is like that... after a defeat, there comes an opportunity," he said.

"We’ll try, we’ll try. The truth is that Real Madrid is the only one that has done it many times. We will try until the last minute. Until the last action. Starting tomorrow."

He admitted Arsenal were the better team at Emirates Stadium.

"Against Arsenal we did less in all aspects, total distance, sprint numbers... everything," he said. "They worked harder."

Real, sitting second in LaLiga on 63 points, four behind leaders Barcelona with eight games remaining, will be desperate for victory at lowly Alaves on Sunday.

"Everyone is thinking about Wednesday, but everything depends on tomorrow’s performance. Because we are still in the fight for the league. We need to play well and win," Ancelotti said. "It’s fundamental to recover the good feelings."



Swiatek Recovers from 0-6 Loss in 1st Set to Beat Keys in Madrid Quarterfinals

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
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Swiatek Recovers from 0-6 Loss in 1st Set to Beat Keys in Madrid Quarterfinals

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Iga Swiatek recovered after losing the first six games of the match to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court, The Associated Press reported.
“It was one of the weirdest matches I played,” the second-ranked Swiatek said. “Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything. I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back and the momentum changed.”
It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.
Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023.
Sabalenka, the No. 1 player in the world, later faces 24th-seed Marta Kostyuk in her quarterfinal match.
Swiatek hasn’t gone past the semifinals at any tournament since last year’s French Open.
It was the second consecutive day without disruptions at the Caja Magica tennis complex following a major blackout on Monday that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill and prompted more than 20 matches to be postponed.