Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach, is frustrated and fears repeating the Betis scenario against Atlético.

Veteran Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real Madrid, believes that his team will not be able to win the European derby against Atlético if they play at the same level they did against Real Betis.

Real Madrid suffered their fourth loss of the Spanish league season yesterday, with a 1-2 defeat against Betis at the Benito Villamarín Stadium in the 26th round.

Real Madrid displayed a lackluster performance during the match, losing possession multiple times, especially in the first half. Ancelotti acknowledged this, appearing worried and frustrated in the press conference, as described by Spanish newspaper “Marca,” ahead of their upcoming Champions League match.

Ancelotti said, “If we play this way against Atlético, we will not win, that’s very clear. I hope our match against Betis serves as a wake-up call for us. We were better and more cohesive in previous matches.”

Real Madrid will host their local rivals Atlético next Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of the Round of 16 in the prestigious European competition.

When asked about the lack of commitment from his players against Betis, Ancelotti responded, “I honestly don’t know, as I’m not inside their minds, but we couldn’t maintain the rhythm. We lost the ball 27 times in the first half.”

At the same time, the 65-year-old coach admitted that this loss was the most painful for the team this season, especially since it came at a critical time, and the team had only managed to collect 5 points from the last 15 available.

Ancelotti commented, “This is a painful loss, and we need to respond quickly. It’s hard to lose at this point in the season because all teams are fighting.”

He added, “We didn’t play well, even though we started excellently, but we couldn’t maintain the level and commitment required. The opponent deserved to win.”

Ancelotti decided to substitute French star Kylian Mbappé in the 75th minute of the match, bringing on young Brazilian Endrick in his place.

When asked about the reason for replacing Mbappé, Ancelotti said, “He was suffering from an issue (tooth extraction) and hadn’t trained much, so I preferred to take him out.”

Real Madrid dropped to third place in the Spanish league standings, with 54 points, two points behind Atlético Madrid, who are temporarily at the top. Barcelona, with 54 points, will host Real Sociedad today, and if they win, they will take the lead.