Ancelotti spoke to the media in the press room at Real Madrid City the day before Real Madrid take on Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu on matchday nine of LaLiga. The Italian coach had the following to say: “Villarreal are doing very well and they position themselves well on the pitch. They're playing at their best level. It'll be a tough game, but it's an opportunity to get back to our best and try to reconnect and get back to playing good football in front of our fans.”

“We have to look at our intensity in defence and ball circulation. This defeat (against Lille) is a great opportunity if you react well. The team didn't want to lose because they gave everything at the end of the game and we competed until the end. I spoke to the players and we agreed that we lacked intensity on the ball and that we needed to move the ball faster. We also lacked intensity in defence. But we're on the right track and we're stronger than ever.”

The team's reaction after the last defeat
“The last defeat did us good and, if the same thing happens, we'll be talking about one defeat in 40 games. We've been unbeaten in the league for a long time and we have to continue this run. We're the hardest hit when we lose, but we're going to find the solutions sooner or later.”

Villarreal
“You can be brave by pressing high or defending well. Everyone who visits us is brave because they want to pick up points. We have to prepare well for our game. The easiest thing to do, when they press you, is to play the ball long, but we'll try to play the way we know, taking into account the characteristics of the opposition. We have to bring a lot more intensity in the defensive and offensive aspects.”

Criticism
“Everyone can say what they want and the criticism is correct considering Wednesday's game. Sometimes there are moments when you have to reconnect and you have to do it early and quickly. None of us like to lose, but we've been on a very long run and a defeat brings you back to reality, which is our job. We have to do better.”

“I'm quite used to criticism and it doesn't worry me. What concerns me is that we have to play better and we'll try to do that tomorrow. We have players who aren't at their best and that's normal. We have to be patient. We're not where we wanted to be, but we're not far from where we wanted to be. As I said, we are lacking in offensive and defensive intensity and we need to improve our ball movement.”

Arda Güler
“He has competition (for places) and it's not easy to find space in the starting 11. He has started twice and is playing a more important role than last year.”

Midfield
“Modrić, Camavinga, Valverde and Bellingham are ball players and I don't think there is a lack of ball players. Tchoaumeni is very important defensively. We have a lot of variety and that's all. Right now, we're not showing all the quality we have, but we'll show it.”

On Mbappé’s omission from France squad
“I don't want to comment on what the coaches are going to do. Mbappé has had a problem that seems to have been fixed, but it's still not 100% solved. Deschamps has decided not to call him up. Mbappé spoke to the national team coach and the club's medical staff spoke to the France medical staff. They'll have spoken and come to this decision.”

Mbappé's defensive work
“I always say that the defensive aspect is collective and not individual.”