Real Madrid's Rodrygo (right) celebrates scoring their first goal with Vinicius Junior during the Champions League last 16 first-leg win against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. REUTERS
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with his side's resilience as it earned a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu in the hard-fought first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday.
Brahim Diaz scored the second-half winner after Atletico forward Julian Alvarez had canceled out Rodrygo's opener.
"It was a good goal but it's not over yet," Diaz said. "We still have to play the return match and give everything we have just like tonight. Nothing has been decided yet."
Diaz jumped the behind-the-goal boards to celebrate with Madrid fans who hugged him profusely, which earned him a yellow card.
"Playing here is something incredible, I always say it," Diaz said. "When you wear this shirt you have to give it all."
He was given a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he was replaced by Endrick in the 89th.
Diaz was making his fourth Champions League start for Madrid this season, replacing Jude Bellingham because of a yellow-card suspension.
Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe both missed good chances that could have given Real a bigger margin for the second leg but Ancelotti was not in the mood to lament missed opportunities.
He preferred to stick with the positive which is a win against what he considers one of Europe's best teams this season and said his players will need even more effort to make the most of their narrow advantage to advance in their title defense.
Brahim Diaz jumps the boards to celebrate with supporters after scoring Real Madrid's second goal on Tuesday. REUTERS
"These are evenly matched games. It's a round of 16 in the Champions League, it could be a final or a semifinal. Atletico is a top team in Europe and you can't think about finishing the tie in the first leg," Ancelotti said during a news conference.
"We've gained a small advantage that gives us confidence for the second leg but that's it. It was a difficult match ... as usual. It always is against Atleti.
"In the first half we lost too many balls, we made unnecessary mistakes that almost cost us, they leveled the game with Julian Alvarez. But in the second half we were better. We were able to take advantage and we did it."
Ancelotti downplayed what seemed to be a disappointing night for Mbappe and Vinicius, praising the work of Atletico's defense in neutralizing his pair of world-class attackers.
"I think playing against Atletico's defense is not that easy a task," Ancelotti said. "We haven't had many chances throughout the match and the two of them have worked hard, they've fought hard...
"They haven't had the chance to show the quality we all know they have but they've got the return leg to do it."
Diaz celebrates scoring Real Madrid's second goal during a 2-1 win against Atletico during their Champions League last 16 first-leg match on Tuesday. REUTERS
The winner of the tie will surely meet Arsenal, who is in a virtually unassailable position to reach the quarterfinals after a 7-1 victory at PSV Eindhoven in Tuesday's first leg.
Simeone disappointed
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was disappointed that his side failed to capitalize on the control it had for long periods of its 2-1 defeat to rival Real Madrid.
But Simeone said he was happy with how his team reacted to conceding an early goal, adding that he felt confident they could turn the tie around in the second leg at the Metropolitano stadium next week, as it did against Inter Milan at the same stage last year.
"We should have taken better advantage when we had control of the game," Simeone said.
"It's difficult to take risks so that with any counterattack you end up losing the game. We controlled that situation very well, but we were missing (something) in the final meters."
The Argentine said he was confident that the atmosphere at its home ground would give Atletico "a stimulus" and that while his team goes into the second leg behind, it could have been much worse had Real taken a late chance on Tuesday.
Real's Mbappe failed to find Vinicius with a pass in the final moments of the match that could have led to another goal.
"Maybe the hope of that no goal opens the door for what's to come," he said.
It was the 15th Champions League goal for Alvarez in 26 matches. His Argentina teammate Lionel Messi had 13 goals after his first 26 games in the European competition.
"They scored their goals at the right moments," Alvarez said. "At times, we had control of the match. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. There is a one-goal difference and there are 90 minutes left in front of our fans at home."
Agencies
