Champions League: Ancelotti defends Bellingham, douse the England international and Zidane comparison
Italian football icon Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid and Napoli showed ‘no holding back’ in a six-goal thriller, while he identifies the only Jude Bellingham fault. ‘Nobody’s perfect!’
Giovanni Simeone had opened the scoring at the Bernabeu, turned around by Rodrygo and Bellingham before Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa equalised at the dawn of the second half.
A draw here would’ve qualified the Partenopei for the Champions League Round of 16, but late on Nicolas Paz and Joselu completed the 4-2 rout.
“It was a very open game from both teams, no holding back, many goals and opportunities. When it felt like fatigue was setting in, we found fresh energy to bring the result home,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.
Nicolas Paz came off the bench and helped Real Madrid with his first goal for the senior squad, although he was aided by an Alex Meret howler when it bounced right in front of him.
“He was born in 2004 and is one of the talented players who is working with Raul in the youth team. We were a bit short-staffed, so he gave us a hand.”
Bellingham was on target yet again, this time with a towering header, but it was pointed out to Ancelotti that the England international lost Giovanni Di Lorenzo for the opening Napoli goal. Has a fault finally been found in this extraordinary player?
“He could’ve been helped out by Mendy, who got too central, but nobody’s perfect!”
Real Madrid are top of their group with a 100 percent record after five games and was able to keep going despite missing eight first-team players.
“I think the key is the atmosphere that reigns in the locker room, with players who are very focused and very professional. I think that makes the difference in nights like this.”
Ancelotti also compared Bellingham favorably with Zinedine Zidane.
"It's difficult to compare two different generations," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference when asked about comparisons with Zidane, who was watching the game at the Bernabeu. "What I see is [Bellingham's] ability to get into the box. Zidane didn't have that. And the individual quality that Zidane had, Bellingham doesn't have.
"But that's modern football. Modern football requires physical players like Bellingham, who can cover a lot of the pitch quickly."
The England international has now scored 15 goals in 16 games for Real Madrid, finding the net in every Champions League appearance for the club so far.
"It looked like he was very tired in the middle of the second half," Ancelotti said. "He took 10 minutes to recover and then in the last 15 minutes he made the difference to help us win. It's surprising. I don't think anybody could have imagined his adaptation to this style of football, to this club.
"He surprises every day, in every game. Not just us, he's surprising everybody. [Bellingham] is a gift for football. His coach and his teammates are delighted with him, and the fans are delighted with him, but everybody is delighted to see a player with this potential and this positive image."
"Bellingham is a young, serious professional," Ancelotti said. "He's adapted well to the dressing room. He has to improve his Spanish. As I've said many times, nobody is perfect!"
