Ancelotti backed in Madrid after winning yet another
It wasn't long after Real Madrid lifted the Copa del Rey that club president Florentino Pérez inter‐ rupted an interview by Carlo An‐ celotti to congratulate the winning coach.
The president and coach em‐ braced and chatted for a few mo‐ ments on Saturday night before Ancelotti went back in front of the camera to finish the inter‐ view.
"We are happy," Ancelotti said. "Like all Madrid fans, we are all happy."
Ancelotti went full circle with Madrid by winning the Copa, nearly a decade after he did it for the first time in his first stint at the helm of the Spanish power‐ house.
Pérez later made sure he showed his full backing of the coach and expressed the club's desire to have Ancelotti continue his successful cycle with Madrid despite Brazil's push to sign him for the national team.
"I don't even want to hear about this subject anymore," Pérez said after Madrid's 2‐1 win over Osasuna in the Copa final in Seville. "He has a contract with us and we are happy."
Ancelotti's current contract with Madrid lasts until the end of next season but speculation about his potential departure in‐ creased after Brazil said it was interested in hiring the veteran Italian coach to replace Tite. Brazil has been without a man‐
ager since the end of the World Cup and the Brazilian soccer fed‐ eration hinted it is willing to wait until the end of the European season to hire its next coach.
The 63‐year‐old Ancelotti has thanked Brazil for its interest but so far has said he wants to stay with Madrid for as long as the club wants to keep him.
Pérez, who had previously not spoken publicly about Ancelotti's possible departure, came in for some criticism when he hired him to replace Zinedine Zidane in 2021. At the time, Ancelotti was coming off stints with Napoli and Everton and many said he was past his prime.
The doubts were quickly gone, though, with Ancelotti leading the club to trophies in the Copa, Champions League, Spanish league, Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup. He is the first coach to help Madrid win all significant tro‐ phies possible in a two‐season span.
"All I can do is thank this squad, this club and these fans," An‐ celotti said. "We've achieved something hugely significant, winning every possible trophy in two years."
In Ancelotti's first stint from 2013‐2015, Madrid won the
Copa, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. He now has 10 trophies with the club, behind Zidane (11) and Miguel Muñoz (14), who coached in the 1960s and '70s.
Ancelotti has a chance to draw even with Zidane if he helps Madrid win a second‐consecu‐ tive Champions League title later this season. The first leg of the semifinals against Manchester City is on Tuesday at the Santi‐ ago Bernabeu Stadium.
Winning the Spanish league for the second year in a row is virtu‐ ally out of the question as Madrid trails leader Barcelona by 14 points with five matches remain‐ ing.
The Copa title was Pérez's 32nd trophy with Madrid, tying him with former president Santiago Bernabéu.
Arsenal keeps pressure on Man City with 2‑0 win at Newcastle
Arsenal kept the pressure on Manchester City in the Premier League title race by beating New‐ castle 2‐0 in a huge test of its cre‐ dentials on Sunday.
Martin Odegaard's first‐half strike and Fabian Schar's own‐ goal, combined with some breathtaking saves by Aaron
Ramsdale, saw Arsenal come through the toughest of its final four games with a rare win for a visiting team at St. James' Park.
Arsenal moved back to one point behind City, which has a game in hand but some poten‐ tially tricky matches to finish the season as Pep Guardiola's team goes for a third straight title.
Odegaard slammed home a low shot from outside the area to give Arsenal the lead in the 14th minute against the run of play, with third‐place Newcastle hav‐ ing already struck the post through Jacob Murphy and had the awarding of a penalty over‐ turned after a VAR check.
Before Schar's own‐goal in the 71st, Ramsdale saved brilliantly off Joe Willock and Schar from point‐blank range while Alexan‐ der Isak headed against the post as Newcastle piled forward in waves.
The second goal changed the atmosphere and Arsenal ulti‐ mately eased home to become just the second visiting team — after Liverpool — to win at St. James' Park this season.
Arsenal was not without its own chances in a breathless match, with Gabriel Martinelli – whose cross was deflected in by Schar for the second goal – curl‐
ing against the crossbar and Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope saving well in one‐on‐one situa‐ tions with Bukayo Saka and Ode‐ gaard.
Arsenal's remaining matches are at home to Brighton, at Not‐ tingham Forest and at home to Wolverhampton. City's are more difficult on paper — away to Everton, at home to Chelsea, then trips to Brighton and Brent‐ ford.