After leading Real Madrid to a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at the Stade de France on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti outlined his preparations for the Champions League final.
Liverpool were "easier to decipher" than the previous clubs Real Madrid played on their way to Champions League victory in Paris, according to Carlo Ancelotti.
Los Blancos enjoyed an incredible journey to the final, defeating Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, then-defending European champions Chelsea, and Premier League champions Manchester City. All three of those opponents forced the Spanish giants to come from behind, and Karim Benzema was responsible for ten goals in the knockout stages.
Many believe Real Madrid was fortunate to qualify for the final, and Ancelotti was aware of this in the build-up to Saturday night's match. However, following his side's 1-0 victory and 14th continental title, Italian manager Vinicius Junior stated that preparing for the Reds was very uncomplicated compared to past opponents.
"In retrospect, people have claimed PSG, Chelsea, and Manchester City were unlucky," Ancelotti told reporters. "This was practically the only game in which everyone thought we were on the same level.
"I believe it benefited that Liverpool were easier to decipher than the others because they had a distinct identity and we were able to prepare in this manner.
Our football wasn't particularly attractive on the surface, but playing out from the back to encourage their pressuring wasn't a good concept. We had a few more long balls after that, and we were able to gain greater possession of the ball, especially in the second half.
Carlo Ancelotti talked about his final preparations.
In the final, Real Madrid performed a perfect counter-attacking performance, weathering a period of Liverpool dominance in the first half before Vinicius scored the winner from Federico Valverde's cross just before the hour mark. The Brazilian's goal was one of Real Madrid's two attempts on target on the night, compared to Liverpool's nine.
Thibaut Courtois was chosen man of the match, which came as no surprise as the Belgian goalkeeper made a number of spectacular saves to keep his clean sheet. As the Reds pressed for an equaliser, he denied Sadio Mane in the first half and Mohamed Salah in the 83rd minute.
Real Madrid completed a double by winning the Champions League and La Liga, while Ancelotti surpassed Zinedine Zidane and Bob Paisley by winning Europe's top competition for a record-breaking fourth time, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest managers of all time.
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