Carlo Ancelotti has said his team was made to suffer by Atalanta in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash.
Holders Madrid, edged Atalanta 3-2 thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
The La Liga giant had to hold on to secure the three points as they had to endure late onslaught from Atalanta.
“It was a complete performance, we suffered, but also created numerous chances, had a lot of movement upfront with Bellingham, Vinicius and initially Mbappé,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.
“We knew that we would have to suffer, we are still missing a lot of players and that means we cannot be at our best, but we needed a performance like this in a very difficult arena against an Atalanta side that plays with a lot of intensity.
“We didn’t want to keep a low block, as our centre-backs weren’t very tall and we could suffer with their crosses,” explained Ancelotti.
“So we had to try everything to keep them away from our final third, we managed it at some times more than others. It was necessary because Atalanta play with so much intensity and we had to match them on that.
Despite the win, Madrid remain very low down the table in 18th place awaiting Wednesday’s fixtures.
Ancelotti added: “I said before the game too, we have to stay alive until Christmas because the squad is limited, we are missing a lot of players. We got Vini back today, Camavinga should return next week, then Alaba in January. Once we have a more complete squad, we can challenge better.”
