Carlo Ancelotti: We were superb

Carlo Ancelotti has hailed his Real Madrid players for their effort in the semi-final win over Cruz Azul in the Club World Cup.

Los Blancos won 4-0 in Marrakech with goals coming from Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Isco. Iker Casillas saved a penalty at the other end to ensure a clean sheet. The Champions League winners will play Argentina’s San Lorenzo or New Zealand’s Auckland City in the final.

Speaking to the press after the game, the Italian said his players had put in a professional performance and he was pleased with the job they had performed.

“We had the right amount of quality for this competition. We were strong, focussed and organised. The team behaved fantastically out there. They are prepared and always give their best,” he stated.

And he added: “We played a serious game. We started well from the outset. We scored early on and that made things easier for us. They could have minimised our advantage, but Casillas saved the penalty and in the second half we killed the game off on the counter attack with two goals. The pitch was perfect.”

Los Blancos now have the chance to win their fourth trophy of the calendar year – something Ancelotti admitted he couldn’t have ever dreamed about.

“I hadn’t thought about it but we are doing very well this year and there is one match left to finish it off well. We are really going to prepare for it because this team deserves the title and it would cap off a fantastic year perfectly if we were world champions.”