We are having trouble’ – Carlo Ancelotti admits he’s ‘worried’ by Real Madrid displays as Los Blancos suffer humbling Champions League defeat to Lille

Canada star Jonathan David’s first-half injury-time goal was enough for Ligue 1 side Lille to down Real Madrid as the reigning Champions League winners fell to their first defeat in all competitions in 37 matches. Despite being the first loss of the season, the warning signs have been blaring at Santiago Bernabeu as Ancelotti’s side have failed to replicate their dominance from last season, despite having added Kylian Mbappe to their ranks. They drew three of their opening eight matches in La Liga.

• Getty Images

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Real Madrid’s squad has barely changed overall since last season, there have been a number of key changes. Toni Kroos’ retirement seems to be Ancelotti’s biggest problem at the moment as the side seems to have lost the ability to play vertically, something that had been their biggest weapon last season thanks to the German’s ability to find players from deep.

  • WHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

    Speaking to the media, Ancelotti said: “It’s difficult to evaluate the game, everything went quite badly. It was difficult for us to do everything. We don’t have to throw everything away and we have to keep a cool head. The feeling is that we are having trouble generating, creating, and possession has been slow, with few ideas… today it is obvious that things have not worked out. We have forwards who need us to play more vertically.

    “The sadness is because the feeling has not been good, you can lose because this is sport, but today we did not give a good feeling. I am worried. We have all the resources to learn and improve, we have to fix things quickly.

    “Bellingham is glued to the sideline when we don’t have the ball, but for the rest, it’s the same as last year, it hasn’t changed. I think it’s not enough to talk about the issue to fix it, if it were that way it would be easier. There is a dynamic that needs to be improved, it’s not enough just to talk. I think the team was improving and this is a step backwards.”

  • WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

    The 15-time Champions League winners are now winless in two straight games and their next match is unlikely to be a walk in the park as they host Villarreal at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, October 5.