Fans can’t get enough of Jude Bellingham’s post-match interview, during which he revealed what Carlo Ancelotti said to him before Real Madrid faced Manchester City.
On Tuesday evening Real Madrid knocked Man City out of the Champions League on penalties to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the 12th time in 14 years.
Madrid resisted intense City pressure for much of the second leg to hold the reigning European champions to a 1-1 draw. With the aggregate score locked at 4-4 after extra-time, Carlo Ancelotti’s side prevailed 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
The English midfielder played a key role in Rodrygo’s opening goal, before coolly converting his penalty after teammate Luka Modric had missed Madrid’s first attempt.
Bellingham spoke to TNT Sports after the game, and fans were impressed by his analysis of the game as well as his incredible anecdote about manager Ancelotti.
When asked by Rio Ferdinand what Ancelotti is like as a manager, Bellingham replied: “As a man, he just fills your with calmness and confidence.
“Before the game, I caught him [Carlo Ancelotti] yawning and asked him ‘Boss are you tired?’. He said ‘You ned to go out there and excite me’ – that’s the calmness and confidence he brings.
He finds a way to let a lot of the boys play with freedom. One of our biggest strengths is that we’re so off-the-cuff.”
The 20-year-old also described how difficult it is to play against City, what it means to play for Los Blancos and how Madrid tweaked their tactics from the high-scoring first leg last week.
