Real Madrid faced a strong opponent on their return at Santiago Bernabeu. After the trophies showcase and the minute silence, the teams went up to produce a tough game with a lot of tension as Carlo Ancelotti had once again to think wisely to play the right cards to win the game. The Italian Boss spoke in the press room at the Santiago Bernabéu and analysed Real Madrid’s victory over Betis, also explaining the substitution strategy he valuated for this game.
After his side recorded their fourth win on the bounce in LaLiga, the coach had the following to say: “We’ve started the season well. It was a tough game, we had difficulty winning the ball back. Betis play out well from the back and that made it difficult for us. Then, we did well in possession and we were direct and produced some good link-up play. Our final pass and shooting let us down, but we created a lot of chances and we deserved to win. It wasn’t straightforward as Betis play good football”.
“I’m counting on Hazard and Asensio, but I don’t know how many minutes they’ll get. Every game is a different story and the changes I made were to give us more energy in the centre of the pitch. I brought on Rüdiger in the final minute to make us stronger in the air. If they game had been tied at 1-1, I’d have sent on Kroos and Ceballos to have more quality going forward. I didn’t need Hazard and Asensio, as we were winning 2-1”.
Kroos, Modric and the midfield: “They’re both intelligent and modest, and they know they’re important for us. They are great examples to follow and managing them is the easiest thing I’ve had in my whole career. Modrić has played really well, but he wasn't at his best. He was solid and linked up well with Camavinga and Tchouameni in the first half. He's been solid throughout the game; the usual Modrić".
Replacements for Benzema: “It’s not true that Benzema doesn’t have replacements because he does. Mariano, Hazard, Rodrygo, and sometimes Asensio or Modrić. He has a substitute, so we’re not going to destroy him. We play every three games after this one. I might need to rest him for one of the games. He’s been playing every week. He wasn’t at his sharpest in terms of his finishing today, but it wasn’t because of a lack of fitness”.
Goals conceded: “We have to take this into account. The goal we conceded was a big mistake. We weren’t switched on from a throw-in and that can’t happen. We have to improve in these small situations”.
Options at the back: "This back four had a lot of success. Lucas, Rüdiger and Nacho are also part of that. We've got a lot of quality and depth at the back, as well as in midfield. These four are more settled. If Rüdiger plays at right or left back one day, the defensive performance won't change.
Betis: "They defended very well, but we looked to play out wide and play one on one. The wingers didn't drop back and the one-on-one helped us. Vini Jr. played very well and Rodrygo caused problems between the lines".
Rodrygo: "He's a special forward as he can play in every position. He's very clever without the ball and very effective in one-on-ones. He's finished his apprenticeship and is now a Real Madrid player".
Winning streak: "Our objective is to play good football and to pick up the points and the wins. We’re capable of playing well, with the quality we have, combining well and good in transitions. The squad dynamic is good and we're full of confidence in our abilities. On Tuesday we've got the most difficult game of this first half of the season. We're going to be up against a team playing great football and we have to be ready".
The starting eleven: "After a game you have an idea and then in training this idea changes. It's not easy to choose a line-up because you leave out players who could play for any team in the world".
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