Ancelotti: I feel sad!

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was left disappointed after believing his team could have won the Copa del Rey final against arch-rivals Barcelona, ​​which ended 3-2 after conceding a late equalizer to force extra time, with Jules Kounde scoring the winner. Real Madrid came back after trailing 1-0 at halftime, but Barcelona striker Ferran Torres scored on a counter-attack in the 84th minute, giving the Catalan giants a morale boost. Ancelotti said: "We were close to winning, and we conceded a strange goal very late... a ball in the back of the defense... but that can happen against Barcelona." He added: "We tried until the end, and we were close. The second half was very good, but that's football. The match was evenly balanced. Barcelona were better in the first half, and we were better in the second." “You can’t speak ill of the team that really fought hard. We played very well. If we had won, it wouldn’t have been a scandal. We played fantastically until we suffered a shock in the final moments,” he said. Real Madrid are now only one point clear of the La Liga title, as they seek to avoid a trophyless season in which they have struggled. Last year’s Spanish and European champions suffered a humiliating defeat to Arsenal, which led to their exit from the Champions League in the quarter-finals. They are also fighting to retain their La Liga title, which is led by Barcelona. Barcelona leads the standings by four points, with five games remaining in the season. They will host Real Madrid in a La Liga match that could decide the title on May 11. “We competed and will compete against Barcelona in the next La Liga game. We will compete like we did tonight,” Ancelotti said. “We have to continue competing for the league title. We played a balanced game and were very close to winning the cup. I feel sad that we couldn’t lift the cup, but I have nothing to blame my players for; Because we performed as we were supposed to." Ancelotti refused to discuss his future, as several reports linked him with the vacant Brazil national team job. He said, "I can continue and I can stop, but that will remain a topic of discussion in the next few weeks, not today."