Tribal Football

Ancelotti delighted as Real Madrid stun BVB: Vini Jr must win Ballon d'Or

Carlos Volcano
Ancelotti delighted as Real Madrid stun BVB: Vini Jr must win Ballon d'Or
Ancelotti delighted as Real Madrid stun BVB: Vini Jr must win Ballon d'OrLaLiga
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says there was never any panic after their 5-2 Champions League hammering of Borussia Dortmund.

Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick, with Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez also netting. All Real's goals came in the second-half after Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens had BVB 2-0 ahead at the break.

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Afterwards, Ancelotti declared the second-half the best of their season.

 

How did you feel about the break?

"We felt calm and collected. We changed the system and played more intensely. We were timid in the first half, we weren't intense with the ball and in the second half we played better with more quality and more pressure. It was the best second half of the season." 

 

Vinicius: 

"What I can say is that it's rare to see a player who has a second-half performance like Vinicius has. And not because of the three goals, but because of his character, he's extraordinary." 

 

Explanation of the match:

"We started the first half with little intensity. They controlled it quite well, although we had two crossbars. We have to play with more energy, with more risk..."

 

The Ballon d'Or:

"Vinicius will win it, but not for what he did tonight, but for what he did last year. These three goals are already in the running for next year's Ballon d'Or." 

 

Half-time talk:

"Talking about scoring three goals could have seemed like a utopia, so we talked about small details like making good passes, winning duels... We had to win the dynamic of the match and from there you start to win the match." 

 

The system:

"The system is not the most important thing, but the attitude. 

"We have to learn from what we did in the second half. The objective is to start the game and not wait for them to score two. I don't think we can play the 90 minutes with the intensity of the second half, but we can be more balanced." 

"The team has to go home with the lessons learned from the second half. It taught us a lot, it could be a key moment in the second half."

 

Vinicius and recognition:

"I think he does have recognition in Spain. They boo him because he makes a difference. With him, racism is stopping and he is respected. They boo him and it's normal." 

 

Lucas Vázquez:

"He did well. He scored the goal that put us ahead. We ask him to attack and that's why he sometimes has a harder time defending. He scored a very well-made goal."