Real won the first-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie 2-1, with Rodrygo Goes and Brahim Diaz's goals sandwiching Julian Alvarez's effort for Atletico.
Ancelotti said afterwards: "Today, the team ran a lot and worked hard, and two players made the difference: Rodrygo and Brahim. They were the best because they worked hard and contributed a lot to help the team, which was quite organised and compact. We didn't press too much, but that wasn't the idea. Atlético had control of the game at times and at other times we did. They didn't create many chances.
"They're evenly matched games. It's a last-16 tie, but it could be a final or a semi-final. We're playing against a top team in Europe and you can't think about finishing the tie here. We've taken a small lead and we're satisfied with this small advantage. It gives us confidence for the second leg, but we believe it'll be tough in the return leg. We have to fight in the second leg.”
On Fede Valverde's performance, Ancelotti said: “I have no words left for him. He made a tremendous effort. He was very tired, but that's all. He was happy to be back and he contributed enormously to the team.”
And on goalscorer Brahim, Ancelotti also stated: “It's not certain that when Bellingham returns, he's going to go back to the bench. He's contributing a lot. He's not an undisputed starter, but he's an important player because he makes the most of every minute I give him. He was last year and he is this year. He's going to play when I put him on.
"When he scored, I spoke to him because Modrić was coming on and we wanted to make a tactical change to switch to a 4-5-1 defence. It was to brief him on this change. Then we put him back on the left.”