Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the press in an online press conference from Real Madrid City on the eve of the meeting against Granada. The Italian stressed that the match vs Granada should certainly bring a great reaction. The elimination from the Copa del Rey has left a bad taste in everyone, especially the fans. But Real Madrid should show that the elimination was just a slip and not the fisrt sign of the decline as the 2nd phase of the season unfolds.
The boss said: “I'm expecting to see a performance in which the team shows a reaction following the defeat to Athletic. We'll have to prepare properly because, just like all of the teams, Granada will come here looking to play their game and will seek our weakness. The most important thing is that we react well, put in a good and committed performance and win the game.
The coach added: “The squad is in good shape. We finished strongly at San Mamés and had good control of the game. We had the injuries to Karim, Mariano and Mendy, but they will all be back next week. I think that this tough period we've had will come to an end next week when the three of them are back with us”.
Squad management: “It's true that I've often fielded more or less the same players, but there are some of them who haven't played much and were ready to play. January was a pretty tough month with the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and with the travelling for the Brazilian players. January is now behind us and we have to prepare properly for February's games. I think that we're managing the squad in the right way because I'm the one who watches the players in training every day and then make my decisions based on that”.
"I'm used to being in these kinds of situations. This just serves to confirm that I am the Real Madrid coach. As Real Madrid coach, you've always got decisions to make. Sometimes you get them right and sometimes you get them wrong. This is all pretty normal in our job and there's nothing new to it".
Squad rotation: "You rotate the team when you lack confidence in a player or when a player is tired or injured. January was a very demanding month, with all of the travelling, the Spanish Super cup, the Copa del Rey games against Elche and Athletic and some serious injuries within the squad. We've suffered a little bit. That's to be expected and is understandable. We now have a very important month in which the squad will be a little bit fresher in that respect. We've got some important games that give us the chance to stay top of LaLiga and progress in the Champions League. I think that the team is currently well placed, I know we're hurting following our Copa del Rey elimination, but we've already lifted one trophy and are competing well".
On Benzema: “Karim is ruled out of tomorrow's game because although he has improved, he still isn't 100%. He trained yesterday but he wasn't feeling very good. We'll have to wait two or three days on him to see if he's fit for our next game”.
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