‘Anything can happen’ – Ancelotti refuses to give up LaLiga title chase after late Real Madrid comeback
The current champions must win their final two games and hope Barcelona slip up.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is not giving up on retaining the LaLiga crown just yet.
The Italian head coach may be on his way out of the Spanish capital, but he can still go out on a high following his side’s dramatic 2-1 win over Mallorca on Wednesday night.
Anything but a win would have crowned Barcelona as champions, but second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jacobo Ramon means Madrid now sit just four points behind their arch rivals.
It does mean that Barca can secure the title on Thursday with a win over Espanyol, but while it is mathematically possible, Ancelotti refuses to lie down.
Speaking after the win at the Santiago Bernabeu, he said: “Anything can happen in football. We didn’t want to give them La Liga today. They have to play tomorrow. If they win we will congratulate them, if they don’t we will see what happens.
“I’m very happy. Good game. The effort of the players was huge.”
Madrid racked up 40 shots on the night, their highest tally of the season.
😍 @LukaModric10 🫸🫷 @KMbappe 😍 pic.twitter.com/PAjtKkZiNM
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 14, 2025
And Ancelotti could not help but wonder what could have been had his side played as well as they did against Mallorca, despite being plagued by injuries and going down a goal.
He added: “I think I’ve never seen a team shooting 40 times like we did tonight.
“If we had played like this in all the games we would have had a better season.”
Depending on Thursday’s result, Madrid could go into the final two games needing six points, but they face tough opponents in Sevilla and Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, should Barca fall to Espanyol, they will have to beat either Villarreal or Athletic Bilbao.