Ancelotti stunned by 19-win record

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed his “extraordinary” team after they set a new Spanish record of 19 straight victories with Tuesday’s 4-0 triumph over LudogoretsRazgrad.

The European champions beat the Bulgarians at the Bernabeu to finish their UEFA Champions’ League Group B campaign with a 100 per cent record. Only five teams had previously managed to win all six group games in the competition, according to FIFA.com.

“It is not easy preparing for each game with the same levels of motivation and eagerness that these players are showing”, Ancelotti told www.realmadrid.com. “After losing to Atletico (Madrid on 13 September), I couldn’t have imagined stringing together 19 consecutive wins. I was sure that the things that weren’t going well would be fixed, but not to this extent.

“It is a result we have achieved with extraordinary seriousness and an incredible amount of professionalism. I know that I have an extraordinary group of players. I have a very good relationship with the players. I care a lot for them and I thank them for the work they’re doing as much as I can.”

Tuesday’s win allowed Madrid to pass the consecutive wins mark of Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona, a side that won 18 straight games in the 2005/06 campaign. Ancelotti’s squad are five wins away from equaling the world record of 24 straight victories set by Brazilian outfit Coritiba FC in 2011.

“We are enjoying a great moment: the players, the technical staff and the club, which has always supported us,” Ancelotti said. “We have to keep this run going.” Madrid are two points above Barcelona in the La Liga standings and play away to Almeria on Friday.

M.D