Ancelotti tells Ronaldo to Party on

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that he does not have any problems with Cristiano Ronaldo 's decision not to cancel his birthday party after his side's 4-0 derby defeat against Atletico Madrid last weekend.

The Portugal international was heavily criticised for not postponing celebrations following Madrid's thrashing at the hands of their city rivals, while some supporters protested outside the training ground after leaked images of the party circulated within social media.


Ancelotti, however, does not see any reason to punish the prolific attacker or any of his team-mates who attended the party.

"The party is not an issue for me. I have never judged the private lives of players and I won't start now," Ancelotti said at a press conference.

"I have no doubts about the players' professionalism. The private life of each individual is up to them. I'd be getting into their private lives if I asked the players to apologise. I only judge their professional life, on the pitch.

"The players understood the problems we had and the frustration of the fans. We now expect a reaction for everyone to see in tomorrow’s game [against Deportivo La Coruna].

"We understand the fans' frustrations very well as we feel exactly the same way. We were very sad and very angry after last week's defeat against Atletico.

"Knowing the players' character and their professionalism, I am confident the team will be able to react and be competitive once again."

The successful coach then went on to reveal that president Florentino Perez has spoken to the players over the team’s recent slump in form, yet he remains confident they will soon be back to their best again.

"The president has spoken with me and with the players. He has shown his concern over our recent performances. He always remained positive, though," he explained.
"When you have a good run like we had last year, there is always a chance that form will drop off a bit at some point.

"Saturday’s defeat against Atletico surprised us all, not just because of the final result, but also because of the way it happened. It was much more of a shock than in September, before the team had its own identity.

"But there is still plenty of time to recover and show a reaction."
Madrid remained atop the Liga table irrespective of last week's defeat, holding a one-point lead over second-placed Barcelona and four points clear of Atletico.