Real Madrid suffered their first defeat in the Champions League this season as the Spanish team lost to LOSC Lille. Carlo Ancelotti acknowledged that the criticism following Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss to Lille in the Champions League was “fair.” He emphasized that his team “shouldn’t look for excuses” after facing difficulties against the Ligue 1 team. Jonathan David scored a penalty right before half-time, thanks to a handball by Eduardo Camavinga that the VAR caught. That was the only goal in Wednesday’s match.
Lille Shock Real Madrid
Lille stunned Real Madrid on Wednesday with a tight 1-0 victory in the second round of the 2024/25 Champions League group stage. This result served as a crucial wake-up call for Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, as their impressive unbeaten run of 37 matches came to an end. More than just the loss, it was the careless play that really stung. Real Madrid left the pitch aware that they must make quick changes after a messy and uninspired display. The home team started strong, looking to control the game, while Real Madrid seemed a bit all over the place.
The visitors had the best opportunities in the first half, with Jonathan David putting Lunin to the test with two fantastic saves. Just before the half-time whistle, Lille broke the deadlock. Camavinga touched the ball in the penalty area, and Jonathan David neatly converted the penalty, putting Lille in the lead. The lead showed exactly what happened in the first half: a solid and sharp Lille team up against a Real Madrid side that struggled to create anything. Even with Endrick starting and Vinicius Junior and Arda Güler trying to create chances, Real Madrid struggled to find a way to score.
Carlo Ancelotti Disappointed With Madrid’s Performance
Real Madrid manager Ancelotti slams team in post-match interview. He said: “The opponent played better, and deserved to win. In terms of duels, intensity, consistency. We have to learn what we have to improve, which is quite obvious, it isn’t very complicated. Today everything was quite bad. We were bad with the ball. It was hard for us to win the ball back. It was hard for us to transition. We needed to be more aggressive.
“The feeling today is that it was hard for us to create. Our possession of the ball was quite slow, with few ideas. We have forwards who need to play more vertically. If it’s hard for you to control the ball, and it gets to the forwards slowly, it’s a problem. I don’t know if we lacked aggression, or creativity,” goalkeeper Andriy Lunin said. “Maybe we should have fought a bit more. In the second half we were hungrier, we improved.”
The loss to Lille leaves Real Madrid on three points after two matches in the Champions League group stage. Carlo Ancelotti’s team sit in 17th place in the 36-team standings. “The sadness comes from the feeling of the team, that it wasn’t a good game,” Ancelotti said. “It wasn’t a good night, we shouldn’t look for excuses, we have to improve. “I’m very honest. Criticism for today’s game is fair, correct, we have to accept it.”
Conclusion
One good thing for Madrid is that Endrick made his first Champions League start. He had already scored as a substitute against Stuttgart in his debut in the competition. Endrick made history by becoming the youngest player from Madrid to start a Champions League match, surpassing Raul Gonzalez’s record at just 18 years and 73 days old. Endrick said: “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m at the biggest club in the world. It’s hard to play from the start. It’s very important for me, I’m very happy because of that, but not with the defeat.”
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