Bayern are not dead, insists Ancelotti

Joe Wright

Bayern are not dead, insists Ancelotti image

Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti insists his side are still alive in their Champions League quarter-final despite a 2-1 first-leg defeat to Real Madrid.

A second-half double from Cristiano Ronaldo overturned Arturo Vidal's opener to give the holders an advantage to take back to Santiago Bernabeu.

Vidal missed a penalty late in a first half that Bayern largely controlled but the Bundesliga leaders failed to recover once Javi Martinez had been sent off in between strikes from Ronaldo.

Ronaldo rises, Madrid marches on

Ancelotti concedes that his old club have the edge but is refusing to accept defeat in Bayern's quest to reach the semi-finals.

"We controlled the match during the first half but we were lacking efficiency," he said. "Also, we were not that lucky.

"Having 10 players of course made it more difficult, but we did okay.

"We are still alive, we are not dead. Real Madrid have better chances now, but we still have a chance, too. And we will play with everything we have."

Thomas Muller Arturo Vidal Bayern Munich

Manuel Neuer made a number of fine saves to keep his side in the tie, denying Karim Benzema and Ronaldo with particularly strong stops.

The Germany number one felt Bayern should have capitalised on their first-half chances but stressed that they believe they can mount a comeback in the Spanish capital.

"We believe we can do it," he told ZDF. "We were the better team in the first half and it could have been two or three-nil."

Zidane frustrated by Neuer

Captain Philipp Lahm added that Martinez's dismissal - which came as a result of two fouls on Ronaldo in the space of three minutes - was the decisive blow.

"We were in total control during the first half but we did not exploit the spaces well enough," said the full-back. "The red card was the killer."

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.