Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed criticism following his side’s 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

The defeat, which follows a 4-0 league defeat to their arch-rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier in the season, has led to a harsh assessment of Ancelotti’s tactics and the commitment of his players.

However, the veteran Italian manager remained unfazed by the criticism and refused to place the blame on his players.

He said: “This is a press conference and not a debate, I have already discussed with my technical staff and my players to find the best possible solutions.

“I don’t think this is the right place to start the discussion. I don’t follow the wave of criticism, that one day you are the best and the next day you are the stupidest. Fortunately, because of my experience, I have a balance. I don’t think I’m the best but I don’t think I’m the stupidest either.

“It was a step back but we have to look forward because we are still in a good position in every competition.

“It hurt us a lot but it did not overwhelm us. Obviously it was a bad game, we made a lot of mistakes. We analyzed it, evaluated it and found solutions.

🎙️ @MrAncelotti 🎙️
📺 Press Conference ➡️ #RMPlay#Lacopamola

— Real Madrid CF 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 15, 2025

A month ago we won the Club World Cup and six months ago we won the Champions League. We are competing. We lost one game, it was the final, it hurt but it was only one game. We are doing well in every competition and we are going to keep fighting.

Despite being the losing side, Madrid had Kylian Mbappe on the scoresheet in the game.

The Frenchman had a good game in Saudi Arabia, drawing praise from Ancelotti, who says the forward has had time to adapt to his new club.

He added: “All my players have my full support, especially those who are not showing their best form at the moment.

“He needed time to adapt to the team to show his best form physically. Now he is in his best form and the team will have to capitalize on it.

Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season.