'Our plan to press a bit higher worked,' says Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti after the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with his side’s performance in the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. The dominant victory helped Los Blancos to extend their lead at the summit of the La Liga standings to eight points over second-placed Sevilla. Although it was Sociedad who took the lead inside the opening ten minutes courtesy of a spot-kick converted by Mikel Oyarzabal, brilliant long-range strikes from Ediouardo Camavinga and Luka Modric put the hosts ahead and then second half-goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio sealed the victory. 

? @MrAncelotti: “We played really well from the beginning. The plan was to press up front, to stop Real Sociedad building attacks from the area. It worked. The physical effort was huge, we did well. If we play like this on Wednesday we have a bigger chance of going through.” pic.twitter.com/78Bi63sSJW

— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) March 5, 2022

Speaking afterwards, Ancelotti said: ”I think all Real Madrid fans believe in the comeback even more after this. It was an important match for LaLiga first and foremost, but it now gives us even more confidence. We have to have that same intensity. I think we can repeat this performance.”

Real Madrid played a high-pressing game not giving any space and time for the visitors to work with. Ancelotti’s side had close to 65% ball possession and created 18 chances, hitting the target on eight occasions. 

The Italian tactician said: “This was our plan, to press a bit higher, and it worked. By executing it well tonight, we have a better chance of being able to do that on Wednesday.”

Camavinga is a quality player: Ancelotti

Camavinga was one of the many impressive performers of the night as the French midfielder scored a stunning long-range goal on 40 minutes to level the score and stole the show with his golazo.  

On the Frenchman, Ancelotti said: “He is an option for Wednesday, but we’ll first see how Kroos and Valverde are doing. He is a quality player and I spoke with him this week. He feels more comfortable at the side of Casemiro, but can also play there. There is no player who can perfectly replace Casemiro, so it’ll have to be a player with different characteristics. In any case, we’ll compete.”

Real Madrid will next face Paris Saint-Germain in the champions League last-16 fixture in Madrid on Wednesday and will be hoping to take confidence from yesterday’s victory. The Los Blancos had lost the first leg 1-0 in Paris and will be aiming to turn their fortunes at home.