Ancelotti gave Real Madrid players a day off after defeating Barcelona.
Carlo Ancelotti allowed his players to go straight into party mode following their Copa del Rey semi-final win over Barcelona.
Los Blancos defeated their El Clasico rivals 4-1 on aggregate, securing their place in the competition’s final in a season in which Barcelona has dominated LaLiga.
Xavi’s men lead Ancelotti’s side by 12 points, with Barcelona defeating Real Madrid in the league just under three weeks ago.
But another cup win proved too difficult for the Catalan giants, as Los Blancos bounced back from their first-leg 1-0 loss with a 4-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou.
Ancelotti’s bond with his players has been evident for some time, with the Italian coach joining in the celebrations when they won LaLiga last season, even smoking a cigar to commemorate the win.
Now, footage of his post-game speech in the locker room following their huge win on Wednesday has emerged on social media, proving that strong relationship once again.
Ancelotti is heard saying, “Proud, proud to see a match like this.” “Sitting on the bench is something I and all of you should be proud of.”
He then makes the Real Madrid players laugh as he continues, “Second, I lied to you.” It was not a championship game. This was a lie; it was only a semi-final; the final is still to come.”
But it was his final remark that threw the dressing room into disarray.
“And third, take note: tomorrow is a holiday!” He exclaimed.
As a result, Real Madrid players jumped out of their seats to dance and yell in their rival’s locker room, with Ancelotti joining in on the fun.
Ancelotti gave Merengues a day off after thrashing Barcelona in the Copa del Rey
At the conclusion of the first half, Vinicius Jr. scored for his team while punching the air after his manager’s announcement.
Karim Benzema then netted a second-half hat-trick, as he often does on big occasions, leaving Barcelona stunned.
Despite clearly feeling as if they’d already won the competition, Real Madrid still has to face Osasuna – who currently sit ninth in LaLiga – in the final in May.
Maybe Ancelotti will pull out the cigar for that one as well!
Los Blancos will also be looking to advance to the next stage of the Champions League in order to retain their title, with a quarter-final first-leg clash against managerless Chelsea scheduled for next Wednesday.