Charles Ancelottithe multi-champion Italian coach of real Madrid, he declined to answer questions about the possible arrival of French attacker Kylian Mbappé at the White House and assured that he will “never” answer anything about the player who was one step away from signing for Merengue but who in the end decided to renew his contract with Paris Saint Germain.
“It’s a question you can ask me today, in three days, in a month or in three months. It’s a question I will never answer“, he said without wanting to fuel anything again about a possible interest from the all-powerful Spanish club in Mbappé.
Ancelotti too fled from the parallelism of his last season of the first stage as Real Madrid coach to what he is experiencing in the present, when a series of irregularities provoked the first criticisms of his work.
“I don’t have to go back to 2015, it happens every year. When you go through a moment that’s a little more difficult than normal, the criticism starts. Last year it happened after Barcelona, I don’t have to go back. It’s my job. I don’t feel the fine rain and if I feel it I put an umbrella“, he explained.
Concentrated on the match against Espanyol, the Madrid coach underlined the importance of the next three matches that his team will facehaving had days to train after nine straight weeks with matches every three days.
“We worked as usual. We did everything, the tactical work, the attacking aspect which didn’t go well in the last few games. We started an important week with the match against Espanyol, the round of 16 against Liverpool and the classic We are fine, we hope to be able to play a good game tomorrow”, he assured.
That’s why he warned him the concentration level of your players must be high and without thinking about the next decisive matches. “It’s an important moment of the season because we want to face Sunday’s match against Barcelona with good sensations. This means winning tomorrow and going to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.”
“Espanyol is a team that has spectacular motivation, they will play a solid match with a good defensive organisation, with little space and good forwards. Joselu is very dangerous in the air. From this point on, we need to be motivated and focused because it’s going to be complicated.”
Rodrygo will be number 9 without Benzema
A new absence of Frenchman Karim Benzema, with an ankle problem after a blow, will mean that Brazilian Rodrygo Goes will be chosen to play as 9 against Espanyol.
“Tomorrow Rodrygo will play as a centre-forward. He has to play where the team needs him, sometimes there are games where it’s better to put his qualities on the wing and in other games his quality serves between the lines. He can play in many roles, it is good and we must take advantage of those qualities it has,” he highlighted.
It also sees youth player Álvaro Rodríguez ready to start ‘Carletto’, who has played the last few minutes in recent games and has already scored and assisted with the first team. “I think he’s prepared. He doesn’t have experience but nobody does when he starts a job. He has the qualities to play from the first minute.”
And Ancelotti confirmed that the return of the Frenchman Ferland Mendy, who has returned to the group dynamic after recovering from a muscle injury, will have to wait. “He has recovered and will train with the team on Sunday to be available for the match against Liverpool.”
Finally, despite the latest results that keep Real Madrid away from the Scudetto and complicate their presence in the Copa del Rey final, Ancelotti’s analysis is optimistic, based on his team’s defensive improvement and convinced that the offensive problems will be resolved quickly.
“I keep in mind that the defensive aspect is the most important thing, especially with this squad that has extraordinary qualities with the ball. In the defensive aspect it is collective commitment, work, sacrifice and we have done well lately. The team is much more solid, it presses higher than before and gives us confidence because the quality is there”, he assessed.
“There are moments you don’t see, where the forwards don’t succeed, but the quality is there and it ends up coming through. The basis of the defensive aspect with this quality is very important.”
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.