"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."