Real Madrid’s mistakes in the Supercopa de Espana proved to be their undoing against Barcelona but the Copa del Rey tie will be different.
Carlo Ancelotti vowed Real Madrid will not endure the same mistakes as they did in the Supercopa de Espana ahead of Thursday’s latest Clasico in the Copa del Rey.
Defeat in Saudi Arabia resulted in Barcelona’s first trophy of the Xavi era and a treble remains in play for fierce rivals Los Blancos.
March is a crucial month for Madrid, with both Copa del Rey semi-final legs taking place as part of a trio of Clasicos that also meet in LaLiga – where Barcelona currently hold a seven-point lead.
Mistakes proved costly in the previous meeting in Riyadh, but Ancelotti insisted there would be no repeat of those mistakes.
“We lacked commitment in the Super Cup, with individual mistakes that will not be repeated,” he told a press conference.
“We are close to winning an important competition and we will compete. It is not a decisive match but we want to take advantage of it.
“We don’t fancy a rematch of the Super Cup, but as we are close to the title, the boiler is rising.”
Ancelotti believes there has been slight progress compared to last year, with Madrid continuing on three fronts as they also hold the lead over Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League for the last 16 years.
“So far I have said that compared to last year we have two points less in LaLiga. But we were also out of the Copa del Rey,” he added.
“We’re not much better than last year; we’re where we deserve to be. But now the good stuff is coming.”
“We have to compete in all the competitions until March. We’ll see if we can win anything.”
