"We didn't go with good attitude": Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti criticizes second-half performance in Levante draw

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has criticized his side's second-half performance in their 3-3 La Liga draw against Levante.

Los Blancos had taken an early lead through Gareth Bale but conceded twice within 12 second-half minutes. Substitute Vinicius Junior equalized for Real Madrid in the 73rd minute only for the visitors to concede again six minutes later. The Brazilian youngster then scored his second of the night five minutes from time to salvage a point for his side.

Ancelotti, in his post-match press conference, criticized his side's attitude in the second half and called for all his players to fulfill their defensive duties.

“Where we’ve lost points today wasn’t in attack, but it was in defence. I think we were compact and together in the first half. In the second half, we didn’t go into it with a good attitude. We conceded a goal straight away, which could have been avoided.

"With the second goal, we could have been more compact too. To have more defensive solidity, everyone has to work. Their first goal was down to not being well positioned positionally. The second was a cross where we were two vs three and that can’t happen. Their third was back luck,” the Real Madrid manager said.

💬 @MrAncelotti: ''I think we played very well in the first part. We were compact and we worked together. We went into the second half differently, because we conceded a goal that could have been avoided. We all need to work more in defense.'' pic.twitter.com/5VbC9oVI18

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) August 22, 2021

Real Madrid had won their opening La Liga fixture 4-1 against Alaves.

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Vinicius Junior is going to be an important player for us: Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti

🏁 FT: @LevanteUDen 3-3 @realmadriden ⚽ Martí 46', Campaña 57', Rober Pier 79'; @GarethBale11 5', @ViniJr 73', 85'#Emirates | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/wNpESlB2Et

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) August 22, 2021

Ancelotti was also quizzed about Vinicius Junior's impact after coming on in the 59th minute for Eden Hazard. The 21-year-old scored twice in 12 minutes to help Real Madrid take a point back home.

“He’s very quick and he can improve on his scoring. I don’t know if he’ll become a great goalscorer because he plays out wide. But, he is quicker than other players, as we saw with his first goal today. Inside the penalty area, it’s more complicated for him because he doesn’t have that type of quality.

"But, with the qualities he does have he can score many goals, especially in one vs one situations. He’s going to be an important player for us. He could start the next match, although I don’t yet know that and we’ll see in midweek. But, I don’t think it’s so important to start a match. It’s about deciding matches. Today, Vinícius helped decide the final score with his abilities,” Ancelotti said of the Real Madrid youngster.

Real Madrid's next assignment in La Liga is a trip to Real Betis on Saturday, August 28.