Carlo Ancelotti: Real Madrid boss says squad 'must do better and have better attitude' after drawing La Liga opener

Updated 19/08/2024 at 10:54 GMT

Carlo Ancelotti has said that his Real Madrid side "must do better and have a better attitude" after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Mallorca in their La Liga opener at Son Moix. Kylian Mbappe made his league debut for the club up front, but it was the man to his right, Rodrygo, who scored for Madrid before Vedat Muriqi equalised for the hosts. Ferland Mendy was sent off for the visitors.

'There was no balance,' Ancelotti says as Mbappe La Liga debut ends in draw at Mallorca

Carlo Ancelotti said he was "not happy" after his Real Madrid side were held to a 1-1 draw by Mallorca in their La Liga opener.

Last season’s UEFA Champions League winners went ahead inside 13 minutes at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix through Rodrygo, but Vedat Muriqi equalised for the hosts eight minutes after half-time.

Madrid then had left-back Ferland Mendy sent off deep into stoppage time, as Kylian Mbappe was denied a win on his Los Blancos league debut.

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Mbappe, Los Blancos' new ‘Galactico’ recruit from Paris Saint-Germain, started up front, fresh from opening his account for his new side in the UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta in Warsaw.

Mbappe was flanked by the Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and goalscorer Rodrygo, while teenage recruit Endrick was on the bench but did not come on.

Real, who won the league title by 10 points last season, were dominant for much of the game, but Ancelotti believes that a lack of “balance” in the second half was his team’s undoing.

"We got off to a good start, taking the lead and then had a chance to get the second goal,” Ancelotti explained in his post-match news conference.

“Then, in the second half, we didn’t find the balance. This was a match we could have lost, obviously, as there was no balance at the back. We had counter-attacks, crosses. So, it wasn't a good game.

“Actually, the game made it quite clear that we need to defend better and, most of all, find the balance on the pitch. It's what we said before, we’re a very attacking team, but defensive balance becomes a fundamental factor."

The Italian, who has won five Champions Leagues in his managerial career, believes that defensive balance stems from “attitude” and “collective commitment”.

"Last year I was happy with some draws,” he said.

“Today we are not happy because I think we could have done much better. I don’t want to make excuses for anything, but we just must do better and have a better attitude. We can learn a lot from this match because from the game it was quite clear where our problems could come from.

"When I talk about defence, we were not good in terms of defence. We struggled to recover the ball, we struggled to press after losing the ball, and this is something we need to improve. When you talk about defence, you're mostly talking about attitude and collective commitment."

Ancelotti thought that, because of his team’s lack of defensive unity, Mallorca deserved the share of the spoils that they got.

"It's not a problem with one, two or three players,” Ancelotti added.

“The problem was a team that, in this game, didn't understand that this was a very important aspect of the game itself, because there is no doubt that Mallorca played a great game from this point of view, in terms of defence. Very good, better than us.

"Therefore, I think the draw is a fair result."

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