"People in football don’t understand this" - Carlo Ancelotti hits out at officials after Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has hit out at the match officials after Los Blancos drew 1-1 to Atletico Madrid. The two sides clashed in the local derby at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday (February 8), eventually sharing the spoils.

It was a match that had its controversial moments, especially in the first half, when a penalty was given to Atletico. Referee Soto Grado had to view the incident on the VAR screen, before pointing to the penalty spot. He deemed that Aurelien Tchouameni caught Samuel Lino's foot, albeit accidentally.

Despite appeals from Los Blancos, the penalty was given, and Julian Alvarez scored with a panenka in the 35th minute. When Carlo Ancelotti was asked about the incident during his post-match press conference, the manager responded (via Managing Madrid):

“I don’t want to talk about the referee. Don’t ask.”

He later added:

“The VAR blew the whistle for the penalty. The referee was very close and saw it clearly. I saw another penalty in Athletic-Girona... People in football don’t understand this.”

It took until early in the second half for Real Madrid to find the equalizer through Kylian Mbappe. The striker latched onto a rebounded effort that fell kindly for him and powered it into the net to restore parity in the 50th minute.

Despite further attacks from both sides, they were unable to find another goal, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti analyzes Atletico Madrid draw

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has analyzed their 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid. He admitted that Los Blancos struggled in the first half, and indeed they did, taking seven shots with none on target. Atletico had five shots with one on target, which they scored. Ancelotti said (via Managing Madrid):

“I think we deserved more. It was a very good game in the second half. The first half was totally different. Slower. We came out with good feelings, especially in the second half. The penalty situation affected the team. We played too slowly before."

However, the second half saw Real Madrid find their shooting boots. They took 16 shots with nine on target, but scored just one goal. Atletico had just five shots, with none on target. On this, Ancelotti added:

"In the second half we took advantage of the width of the field. Vini and Rodry created a lot of danger from the outside. It was a close, competitive match. As I said, we came out of the match with a draw, but encouraged. The team was good in the second half.”

Overall, Real Madrid kept the ball more, with 60% possession and 617 passes (93% accuracy). Atletico had just 40% possession and 380 passes (86% accuracy).