Lille sent Real Madrid reeling on Wednesday after a narrow 1-0 win in the second round of the 2024/25 Champions League group stage, a much-needed reality check for Carlo Ancelotti's team as its supposedly unbeatable unbeaten streak of 37 matches came to a grinding halt. More than the defeat, however, it was the lackadaisical performance that left a bad taste. Real Madrid walked off the pitch, knowing changes need to be made urgently, following that disorganized and unmotivated performance.
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Head coach Carlo Ancelotti didn't mince words and was quite angry. For him, the defeat wasn't the problem; it was how the team showed up on the pitch. "The sadness comes from the image that the team projected. It wasn't a good match. This is sports, and we can lose, but we didn't leave a good impression. That's what worries me the most," he said.
Lille dominance, real struggles
The home team came out with a will to rule the pace of the game, while Real appeared scattered. The best chances were created by the visitors indeed in the first half, but Jonathan David forced Lunin to two great saves. But just before the end of the first half, Lille found the net. Camavinga handled the ball in the box, and Jonathan David calmly slotted in the resulting penalty as Lille went ahead.
That lead was an utter reflection of the first half: a clearly well-organized, sharp Lille against a Real Madrid devoid of any creativity. Not even the presence of Endrick as a starter, coupled with attempted plays by Vinicius Junior and Arda Güler, could offer solutions toward the offense. Ancelotti recognised the problems: "We did everything wrong: with the ball, in transition, with intensity, we lost duels. We had trouble creating and generating chances. The possession was slow and didn't have ideas.".
This was the deadly effect of having a slow game in Real Madrid's camp. Slower transition that usually gains rapidity at the hands of Ancelotti's teams paralyzed their attack either by not being able to pierce the iron defense of Lille or with any force sufficient to pierce it. Not even the movement of Vinicius Junior to an interior position as a partner for Endrick during the second half was enough to turn this situation around.
Loss hangover and necessary adjustments
Perhaps the only silver lining was the learning curve. Ancelotti, though, with experience and knowledge of how a long season is full of ups and downs, knows well how defeats too have their benefits as a welcome wake-up call. "We didn't show a good version of ourselves in this match. When we lost the derby last year, it was a great wake-up call, and I hope this defeat can serve as a fantastic alert," he said.
That is what an "alert" implies: Real Madrid should take swift action. The season is long, but the Champions League does not forgive repeated errors. Real should correct its defects on the field of play, the most important ones being the lack of clarity in the attack and defensive disorganization visible against Lille.
Ancelotti also underlined the need not to overreact after a negative result. "We have to analyze things with a cool head and not throw everything away, but it's clear we need to improve. We struggled to create and generate chances."
Similarly, the position of Jude Bellingham came into question, as he was very inconspicuous. "He only remains on the side when we don't have the ball. Otherwise, the same position in which he did so much good last season. Now, for him, everything isn't flowing with the same clarity as before."
The schedule and fatigue
Ancelotti spoke also of the tight schedule-a frequent complaint from coaches at big clubs-but refused, true to his style, to make of it an excuse for the defeat: "It's no excuse. We played many times on Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday and fought through it. It wasn't a good night. We shouldn't look for excuses, we just need to improve, period."
Improvement" was, therefore, one of the most used leitmotivs by the coach - who knows that in Real Madrid's level, adjustments come fast so that it does not deviate from its course. Saturday already looms ahead, and Ancelotti is aware this squad has to respond now.