"2024 has been fantastic, unforgettable, and I believe we can see a repeat of it if we're all able to deliver our best," said the Italian.

Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the press room at Real Madrid City to assess the Real Madrid-Sevilla clash on LaLiga matchday 18 at the Santiago Bernabéu (Sunday, 4:15pm CET): “We're back at home after several games on the road. Finishing the year in front of our fans is exciting and we want to end on a high. Sevilla are playing well and competing in every game, but we want to round off the year with a win."

“There are lots of happy moments because it's been a fantastic year, unforgettable. We can see a repeat of it if we're all able to deliver our best. The squad has an unbelievable level. The European Cup was the happiest moment, when we lifted the trophy after beating Borussia Dortmund. We haven't lost many games but the saddest moment was the defeat against Barcelona at the Bernabéu. I can't ask Santa Claus not to bring further criticism in 2025. Sometimes it's valuable, acceptable, and you can learn from it."

Summing up the year

“I'd say it's been outstanding given the difficulties we've had. We've won five titles and that's fantastic. Our goal next year will be the same: compete, fight, and win the Champions League.”

Demanding calendar

“We could have gone on holiday after winning the Intercontinental Cup. We're going to be playing against opposition who compete very well. The new coach is doing a great job and it'll be difficult. It's a risky match and we have to make that final push."

Mbappé

“He's pretty much settled in now. He's showing good form and he can still improve. He's delivered some good performances, he's recovering from the little injury he had. He's motivated and happy to be here. He needed to take this time to settle in, as anyone does, but he's done that now."

Fight for LaLiga

“It's going to be a far more hard-fought battle for the league than it has been in recent years. Besides Real Madrid and Barcelona, Atlético will fight hard too, they have the resources to compete. It will be entertaining to the end, and the league may well be won with under 90 points this year."

Press conferences

“Doing the press conferences is entertaining, I enjoy it. About 10% of the questions you ask are a bit uncalled for and are difficult to answer. But generally I'd say we've had a good time and the press conferences haven't been boring. The players' schedule is the worst thing.”

Correcting the details

“Sometimes we lose the ball unnecessarily given the quality the squad has. We're working on that because at times we have a tendency to take risks when we shouldn't."

Full-back position

“Mendy has recovered and he's ready for tomorrow. Alaba is starting to train a little bit. He'll be back with the group after the break and he'll be able to play again by mid-January. Both full-backs have done a brilliant job after the injuries to our starting full-backs, Carvajal and Mendy. Lucas Vázquez and Fran García have done a great job after several games and have really helped the team. As for Valverde, I don't plan to play him at full-back except in the event of emergencies. Raúl is coming through there as well because he can do a job in certain games."

Confidence in Vini Jr. and Kaká

“I've given them the confidence. If you have a talented player and give him confidence, that's how you get the best out of them. You can't instil confidence in every player in the same way. Sometimes you'll put a player in when they're not playing at their best. That's why it's so hard to give confidence to everyone. But ultimately, if they have the quality to be the best in the world, it comes through."

Connection between Vini Jr., Rodrygo, Bellingham and Mbappé

“They haven't played all together too often because at times, we've had injuries to Rodrygo or Bellingham. But it looks as though they link up really nicely and adapt to each other's attributes. Sometimes, Mbappé has played on the left, sometimes Vini comes down the middle, and others Bellingham has fallen out to the lefthand side. I'm not going to fix any four of them in a single position, I'll give them the freedom to find the right position."

“You have to try and find that mobility because it's a crucial aspect of our attacking play. I don't ask Mbappé to be too involved in the build-up because his talents lie in running off the back of defenders. All I ask of him is to find more consistency. That's what we're encouraging him to do, it's what he must try and achieve. We have several players who can find him with that killer ball if he runs off his man."