Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City the day before the clash against Girona, which will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu (4:15 pm CET). The team comes from the first loss of the season and will certainly try to leave that behind and continue the great run in La Liga. The Italian coach told the press that the team will be almost completed with the injured players ready to return (except Benzema) and the alternatives as well as the motivation and the good physical shape will make it easier to get the victory. Then he spoke about the players and the winter tranfers.
Carletto also names his squad for the game:
REAL MADRID SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Courtois, Lunin, Luis López.
Defenders: Carvajal, E. Militão, Alaba, Vallejo, Nacho, Odriozola, Lucas V., Rüdiger, F. Mendy.
Midfielders: Kroos, Modrić, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, D. Ceballos.
Forwards: Hazard, Asensio, Vini Jr., Rodrygo, Mariano.
He expressed himself as follows: “The team is motivated and doing well. We want to put on a good display and get the win. We’re going to have almost everyone back: Modrić, Valverde, Ceballos and Mariano. But not Karim, because we think it’s too soon. We had a slight problem with Rodrygo last night and he hasn’t trained today, but he’ll be available”.
“We’ve analysed what happened in Leipzig. We’ve looked at the main mistakes, it wasn’t down to attitude but positioning. Now, we need to think about what we need to do in the four games remaining before the break to try to get the most out of this important part of the season. We want to go into the break in good condition. The players are focussed. Of course, the World Cup is close, but the players aren’t speaking about that. They all want to play, and I’ve not seen any form of a mentality shift in that sense”, the coach added.
Important moment for the squad: "This team will always stand up and be counted and will never give up, and that’s what I think they’ll do in these four games. You always have to remain focussed from the start and think it’s the last game of the season and you have no advantage. Sometimes, at this point of the season when you play every three days, it’s hard to maintain high motivation levels”.
Benzema: “He trained yesterday and didn’t feel comfortable afterwards. He did a test and everything was ok, but we have to take into account what the player feels. He’s not 100% yet”.
Valverde the best midfielder: “He’s one of the best. It’s something new in football, he’s shown a lot of quality. For everyone in football, it’s been surprising to see such a complete centre midfielder”.
Camavinga: "He makes more of a difference when he comes off the bench because when the games are more open, his physical attributes are more effective. It’s not his fault. His game is different, he’s less effective when there are fewer spaces. But in the second half, when it’s a more open game, he makes a difference”.
“We’re really happy with him. He’s not a starter because there’s a lot of competition. Modrić doesn’t always start, nor do Kroos or Tchouameni. We’re really pleased we’ve got him because he’s young and, at his age, not many players have as much quality as he does”.
Self-criticism: "Thibaut was self-critical, but not a harsh self-criticism. He said we had to be more aggressive and more focused. Self-criticism is fair. We don't have to think too much about what happened against Leipzig, we have been looking at it trying to correct it."
Winter transfer window: "We’re not thinking about the winter transfer window, we’re not interested. This is the squad that will play until the end of the season and it’s not going to change”.
On Barcelona’s elimination from the Champions League: "I don’t know if Barcelona will be affected by the elimination, but they’re going to be competing until the end to win the league, I’ve no doubt about that. There are moments during the season when players are out, good moments and bad ones”.
Miguel Gutiérrez: "Last year he started the season because Mendy and Marcelo were out injured. He came into the first team and did well. He’s a player who we’re evaluating for the future, like we’re doing with other players. We’ve loaned him out and if he does well he can return”.
Reinier: "He’s got a lot of quality, he did the preseason with us. Until now, he hasn’t been able to show his best ability, but there are players who are capable of showing it before because of their character. There are a lot of examples of players who have reached their peak at 30 or 28. He’s got the quality to play at the top level”.
Rodrygo and Militão: "It’s good they’ve become nationals. That will eventually free up places for foreign players”.
On Girona’s style of play: "They play good football. They like to be in possession and are well organised in attack. We have to defend well because they use the ball well”.
Passion: "Footballers have passion. But passion means nothing if you can’t motivate them and involve them in your project, but we all have passion. It’s their job”
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