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Real Madrid coach Ancelotti: Where we must improve after US tour

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says he's satisfied with the progress made during their preseason tour of the US.

However, he will seek to improve their defensive work before the campaign kicks off.

He said, “It's been a positive pre-season and in the games we've played we've displayed different qualities. One was very good and the other was in terms of defence, which we need to improve. The team isn't used to defending in a diamond formation. We conceded a lot of goals against Juventus and Barcelona. We lacked balance and we need to fix that.

“The defensive aspect is the easiest to improve because it's a problem of positioning, focus and attitude. We were good and aggressive when pressing, but we were weak in the low block. It's been quite clear in the last two games. Moving the block back might be an option to take into account. But I'll take the good things and the chances we created in attack.

“In pre-season we might not be able to score because the team is tired, as we have travelled a lot. We don't have all the freshness that a striker needs to have when it comes to scoring. But Vinicius positioned himself very well both inside and outside the box and scored a fantastic goal. Offensively there are no problems, but defensively we have to sort it out. There are things we have to try in this period and it has been quite clear what we need to fix things."

On experimenting with Vinicius Jr's role, Ancelotti added: “He doesn't find it difficult to play on the inside. He has handled the position very well. Today he had some difficulty on the inside, so he went wide and that's where he started to create danger. He's improving."

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