“On a mental level tomorrow’s game is more complicated for us”
MADRID, 14 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, assured that he gave his players a “simple and clear” message ahead of this Wednesday’s match against Liverpool, second leg of the Champions League round of 16, which is “not do calculations” despite the 2-5 loss in the first leg at Anfield and jump to the Santiago Bernabéu ready to win.
“The message is quite simple and clear; don’t make calculations and play the best we can. Plan a game like the one in the first leg. It’s not our idea to make calculations, we’ll go out to play with the same intensity and enthusiasm to try to win the game” he assured at a press conference.
Ancelotti commented that they will try to repeat the open game of the first leg, despite the fact that Liverpool went 2-0 up in the first minutes. “We are not going to set up a match taking advantage into account, but we will set up an open match to attack and play our best offensive football,” he repeated.
A message, not to speculate or play with Anfield’s 2-5, which he believes his players “understood correctly”. “It will be an open match because Liverpool comes to change the dynamics of the tie. We have to do both things well, but we think more about attacking than defending,” he added.
On the other hand, on a mental level, he believes that this duel will be “more complicated” for Real Madrid than for Liverpool. “They come to the top trying to get the best from the first minute, no matter what. The result of the first leg puts us in doubt a bit. We will try to go to the top from the start but we have more doubts than the rival,” he acknowledged.
When asked about his players, he assured that Karim Benzema is fine at all levels; physical and mental. “He is fine. I don’t speak to Karim every day but I see him well, motivated, and excited for tomorrow’s game,” he said.
Regarding Vinicius Jr., he assured that he was “happy with his progression” at the attitude level. “His last game was exemplary in attitude and the best thing is that he is focused on the field. I think he is on the right track to write the history of Real Madrid in the coming years, as Modric, Kroos and Karim have written it very well, all this fantastic group, above all in the ‘Champions League'”, predicted.
The situation is different for the Belgian Eden Hazard, with whom the Italian coach hardly has. Furthermore, in response to statements by the playmaker, ‘Carleto’ acknowledged that they don’t speak much.
“The relationship is not cold. You have to value things. Hazard has been very honest, I don’t talk much with him and it’s the truth, because talking is a matter of character and you feel better with one person than with another. It happens with the children. But the most important thing for me is that although we don’t talk a lot and he doesn’t play a lot, he respects me,” he appreciated.
A respect that values ”a lot”. “I value him a lot, too. He doesn’t play because there is a lot of competition, and a player who is contributing a lot plays in his position, Vinicius. For next year I have the players that the club puts at my disposal”, he commented ambiguously about whether or not Hazard will be white next season.