Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 9y

Carlo Ancelotti pleased as Real Madrid cruise past Liverpool

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his side's maturity and quality after they had easily swatted Liverpool aside 3-0 in Wednesday's Champions League group match.

After an even first 15 minutes, Madrid went in front through Cristiano Ronaldo's well taken strike, and took full control of the game before half-time as Karim Benzema quickly took advantage of questionable Reds defending to add two more.

Liverpool had more of the ball after the break, but the reigning European champions were never seriously troubled, and with three wins from three are already six points clear at the top of Group B.

The Blancos coach told Canal Plus after the game that his team had shown personality and confidence to manage Liverpool's early pressure and then use their quality to win out.

"I am very satisfied to play with such personality and quality in a difficult place like this," Ancelotti said. "The team has a lot of maturity, a lot of confidence in this moment. We defended well in the opening minutes, and controlled early intensity from Liverpool. Then we had our incredible quality up front from Cristiano and the others."

Ronaldo was withdrawn with about 15 minutes to play, and was then seen on the bench with an ice-pack on the left knee which caused him such issues earlier in 2014. Ancelotti admitted the move had been precautionary, while making a joking reference to Barcelona coach Luis Enrique's recent issues persuading his superstar Lionel Messi to take a rest.

"In the end we had a lot of counter-attacks, [Ronaldo] was sprinting a lot," he said. "So to avoid a problem we thought to take him off, so he would be fresh for Saturday. He is happy and we are all happy with him. The best way to take him off is not to ask first."

Liverpool's Mario Balotelli was seen swapping shirts with Pepe as he headed down the tunnel at the interval, an action that caused a stir the Anfield crowd and disappointed Reds manager Brendan Rodgers. When asked for his view on the situation, Ancelotti defended the mercurial Italian.

"It is normal to swap jerseys in football," he said. "Sometimes it happens at half-time. I do not see the problem."

Asked if he had liked the performance of any Liverpool player, Ancelotti picked out Raheem Sterling and Balotelli himself, even though the Italian had been substituted at half-time.

"I like the role of Sterling coming from deep, and the role that Balotelli played. After we scored three goals they lost a bit of their spirit and motivation to go for the win."

Madrid have now won their last eight games in all competitions, scoring 35 goals and conceding five. However they are still four points behind current La Liga leaders Barcelona, who go to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu top of the table having not conceded a goal all season so far.

Ancelotti said he was really looking forward to Saturday's game, and just happy he had already secured his ticket.

"Both teams are in very good form at this moment," he said. "It will be a great spectacle. I have the luck not to have to pay to watch it."

With Gareth Bale missing due to a lower-back muscle injury which also rules him out of Saturday's game, Isco had again taken an opportunity to show he deserved a place in the team, Ancelotti agreed.

"I have always had confidence in Isco, now with Bale out he has more opportunities," he said. "He is doing very well, has great quality. But it was not just him, the whole team sacrificed themselves, worked hard, including the forwards."

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