The Italian was delighted with the way in which his
troops responded to the unavailability of their star forward, praising
Gareth Bale for the "most important goal" of his career
Real Madrid coach
Carlo Ancelotti says the absence of
Cristiano Ronaldo helped to motivate his side in their Copa del Rey victory over
Barcelona on Wednesday.
The Portugal international missed the
Clasico clash through injury but saw wingers Angel Di Maria and Gareth Bale both score as
Los Blancos ran out 2-1 winners at Mestalla.
"We
deserved the title," the Italian said. "We pressed high up the pitch
and we took advantage on the counter. We played really well and all the
players worked hard, so congratulations to them.
"Cristiano's
absence motivated the players," he added. "It made them work even
harder. They all did well. You have to play as a team to beat Barcelona
and we did that.
"Barcelona tried but we knew how to play against them. We needed to be compact and we were.
"We will take strength from this for the other two competitions."
Madrid
face Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League later
this month and are still in the race for La Liga, although Atletico lead
the Primera Division by three points with five rounds remaining.
Barca,
meanwhile, look likely to end the season empty-handed following this
loss, European elimination last week and their defeat at Granada on
Saturday which saw the Catalans lose ground in La Liga.
"I don't
think their cycle is finished," Ancelotti said. "They played a good game
and even though things haven't gone that well for them this season,
they will fight until the end in La Liga and remain a dangerous rival."
The
Italian preferred to praise his players as a group, but believes that
Bale's winner was the most significant strike of the Welshman's career
to date.
"He played a very good game and it's definitely his most important goal. But all of the players did well.
"It was a fantastic night and the fans from both teams made it an extraordinary spectacle."
Title : sports - Ronaldo absence motivated us, says Ancelotti
Description : The Italian was delighted with the way in which his troops responded to the unavailability of their star forward, praising Gareth Bale ...