Carlo Ancelotti: Real Madrid Manager Reacts After Loss To Arsenal At The Emirates

• Carlo Ancelotti saw his Real Madrid side fall like a pack of cards against an exciting Arsenal team at the Emirates Stadium
• The rampaging Gunners thoroughly dominated the Spanish giants in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash
• Ancelotti disclosed that Los Blancos had a good first 60 minutes, but they were poor after Declan Rice's incredible set-pieces

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has reacted to his side's catastrophic loss to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.

The manager spoke with journalists shortly after the encounter but warned that a lot is still at stake in the reverse fixture.

He stated that nobody expected the Gunners to score two goals, however, the Gunners went further to add an icing on the cake.

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It had ended goalless in the first 45 minutes, but the second half was totally different as the home team dominated from start to finish.

Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 58th minute when he curled home a direct freekick, to send the entire Emirates Stadium into raptures.

The defensive midfielder made it with an even better strike from a freekick as the ball went into the top corner, leaving Thibaut Courtois hapless in goal.

Mikel Merino compounded Real Madrid's woes when he added another one late in the game as Arsenal take a massive 3-0 win into next week's second leg.

After the game, Ancelotti responded to questions from Kiyan Sobhani of Managing Real Madrid. The tactician said:

"A lot can happen at the Bernabéu. It seems that after tonight there is no chance, but in football, there are always changes. Nobody expected Arsenal to score two goals from set pieces, but these things happen sometimes. We have to believe.”

Speaking on the defeat, the manager disclosed that the two set-pieces from Declan Rice scuppered their plans. He said:

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“It was a tough defeat, obviously, we didn’t expect this, but after the 2-0... in set pieces... we fell apart a bit. We finished the match badly. This team usually reacts, but the last 30 minutes were very bad. We have to be self-critical. And think about doing everything possible to try to come back.”

Asked whether there is a possibility of a comeback in the second leg, the manager said his team would try even though there are a few possibilities.

The tactician was asked to explain what went wrong with his team in the second half. He responded:

“It’s difficult to explain. We lacked a joint reaction, unity. We lost order on the field and from then on, they controlled the ball better.”

With Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo leading the attack, Ancelotti was made to speak if he has concerns about the front four. He said:

"No. The line-up has been different from previous years, but it is the best. The good guys have to play, that’s what I think. But we have not been able to be a compact block.”

Reacting to a question which insinuated that Arsenal were the better team on the night. The 65-year-old concluded:

“Today they showed better quality, attitude, working as a block. We have to be quite critical. For an hour we were not bad. The result should not make us throw everything away.

"It’s very difficult to come back, but in the first half we did several things very well. We had chances to take the lead. And the physical work was of a very high level.”

Arteta reacts to Arsenal's win

Legit.ng earlier reported that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his satisfaction with a big smile and shared his thoughts on what it means.

The reverse fixture is slated for Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday, and Los Blancos must score at least three goals to take the game to extra time and have a chance of reaching the semi-final.