"It's not goodbye to La Liga': Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid will fight till the end

After an enthralling 90 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, nothing could separate Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. The second leg of the Madrid Derby ended with a score line of 1-1. With this result, Real Madrid faces the threat of going 10 points behind the league leaders FC Barcelona.

Following the completion of their part in Matchday 23 of La Liga 2022/23, Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at the Santiago Bernabeu and stayed positive on the title-winning stance: "It's not goodbye to La Liga. It's more complicated than before the match, but we have to fight and fight until the end. Now the cup is the most important thing because it's the next game and we are very close to a title. We're 270 minutes away from winning a title."

"We conceded the goal due to the quality of the other team, something we have to take into account in football. It also happened to them with our goal. These are things that can happen, but their goal came at a time when we could've pushed forward and that lowered the team's morale. It's quite normal that we are not at our best because it's the 17th game in 50 days, since 30 December."

New savior

After Jose Maria Gimenez's 78th-minute strike, 10-men Atletico Madrid was looking to attain a famous victory away from home. However, a late equalizer by Real Madrid's 18-year-old sensation Alvaro Rodríguez salvaged a point for Los Blancos. Came in as a substitute during the 77th minute, Rodriguez soared to hit home a Luka Modric delivery of a corner. The goal gave Rodriguez recognition from his coach, who said the striker will likely be promoted to the first team next season. 

Here's what Ancelotti said about Rodriguez after the game, "He has shown all his quality and it is a special night for him and us because we are beginning to realise that he will be useful in this part of the season. For next season he will be in the first-team squad because he has the quality that few others have. For his age, he is tall, powerful, and a formidable header. In this last part of the season, we will evaluate if we need him, which I think we do, Castilla or both. We have to handle him well and Raúl and I will discuss what to do."

"I ask him for what we needed. Height in the centre because in this type of game and having Karim, who is not a usual centre forward, putting in a player of this quality was good for us. We needed to focus more because he is formidable with his head."