“Everyone presumes Real Madrid dead…but we’ll never going to give up,” were the defiant words from Calro Ancelotti on Wednesday as Real Madrid get ready to for Copa del Rey opponents Villarreal after their Spanish Super Cup setback in Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona won the title on Sunday in Riyadh, with the Catalan club defeated defending champions Real 3-1 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona opened the scoring through Gavi in the 33rd minute, then Lewandowski doubled Barca’s lead just before half-time. Pedri put the game out of reach with his team’s third in the 69th minute. Benzema scored a late consolation for Real Madrid in the 93rd minute, but it was far too late to change the outcome.
While Real will travel to face Villarreal, newly crowned Spanish Super Cup champions Barcelona will visit third-division club Ceuta.
In La Liga, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are three points adrift of top of the table Barcelona after a 2-0 loss to Villarreal earlier in the month.
Real Madrid have had bad starts to the year before and often finished strongly – frequently securing league and European titles when things matter most. Ancelotti is hoping history will repeat itself.
“We’re going through a difficult moment, which usually happens during the season. The sooner we leave it behind us the better for us. Tomorrow is our chance,” he told reporters.
