Carlo Ancelotti applauds his side for picking a point in the Madrid derby
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti believes Sunday’s derby draw with Atletico Madrid could prove to be an important result in the future, despite their last-gasp concession.
Madrid were on course to move within a point of Barcelona – who saw their unbeaten start to the season ended by Osasuna on Saturday – in LaLiga when Eder Militao opened the scoring after 64 minutes.
However, after a 15-minute stoppage due to members of the crowd throwing objects at Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Angel Correa snatched a 95th-minute leveller for Atleti.
The Argentine’s strike was the first stoppage-time goal scored by Atleti in a Madrid derby this century, as both teams maintained their unbeaten starts to the campaign.
Ancelotti was frustrated to drop two points but feels the result was still a positive one, telling reporters: “It is hard to cope with a draw when we were very close to winning.
“It can happen, the opponents are very strong and have a lot of quality. Their goal was in the last minute, it’s a pity. We controlled the game well, we came close. Ancelotti said.
“But I always like to think positively. We’ve won a point away from home and we are a point closer [to Barcelona].
“The dynamic is good, we are in contention and we don’t despair, a draw here can mean a good point for the future.”
Referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer took both teams off the pitch in the aftermath of Militao’s opening goal as objects rained down from the stands, causing Atleti boss Diego Simeone to say Los Colchoneros “do not need these people”.
Ancelotti hailed the officials’ reaction to the incident and said the stoppage had not affected the flow of the game, adding: “I don’t think it helped Atletico, it affected us both equally.
“We all wanted to play. The decision to stop the match was the right one. The referee said that lighters were thrown and that he had stopped the match twice, if they threw another one, he had to suspend it.
“I think it was a correct decision by the referee. It had to stop, a few things were sorted out, and we started again. Obviously, none of us liked the situation. Everyone wanted to play. The referee acted well.”
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