Real Madrid travelled to Sevilla for their last game on the road this season (7:00pm CEST). Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the press room at Real Madrid City on the eve of the LaLiga matchday 37 meeting at the Sánchez-Pizjuán. It will also be the team's last game in May, the second this week following the win over Rayo on Wednesday, a clash marked by the Santiago Bernabéu's tribute to Vini Jr. Ancelotti's men will be looking for what will be their 24th victory in the competition so far. The Boss revealed the team that will be with him in Sevilla in the press conference. Vinicius, Benzema, Asensio and Mariano, as well as the suspended Carvajal, will miss the penultimate fixture of the season.
REAL MADRID SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Courtois, Lunin and Fran.
Defenders: E. Militão, Alaba, Vallejo, Nacho, Odriozola, Lucas V., Rüdiger and F. Mendy.
Midfielders: Kroos, Modrić, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni and D. Ceballos.
Forwards: Hazard, Rodrygo and Álvaro.
Ancelotti assessed the meeting in the following terms: "We want to finish the season on a high. We have two games left, the first will be difficult because we're up against opposition who play some great football. We're without Vini Jr., Benzema and Asensio, everyone else is fine. We'll try and give it our best, as ever. We're good from a morale point of view, the win over Rayo did us good. I hope we can win tomorrow as well. Tomorrow's game will be hard-fought and full of quality”.
VAR: "Technology is important because a lot has improved since VAR came in. I think it's a good idea to increase the use of technology. Other leagues also have goal line technology and it works well. I'm all for increasing the use of technology but I also think it's important to improve how we use it. It would be great to use goal line technology to avoid these kinds of issues. Why haven't they implemented it? I don't know. If it's a question of money, I think it can be resolved quickly”.
Vini Jr.: "He won't travel because he can't play. If he had any chance of being fit, he would have travelled and tried to play. But his knee is still bothering him. It's not whether we play home or away. He can't play, that's it. I hope he can be back for the final game”.
On Rodrygo: "With the young guys making progress, all they need is that consistency and to do a great job whenever they are called on. The same goes for him as it does for the others. It's an issue of consistency to gain a bigger role in the squad.
Tomorrow's team: “We'll put out a team and try to win the game, despite being without our usual forwards. It will be a competitive line-up because we have great players. We're going to play hard and with great quality”.
Reinforcements for next season: “What we want, and what we have to do in order to improve the squad, we will do. Don't you worry”.
Assessment of LaLiga: “I can give you a very quick analysis of what has happened in LaLiga. We competed until the end in every competition. We perhaps let the league go a little bit because following the game against Barcelona, when we went from 9 points to 12 points off the top, it was clear that our focus would no longer be on the league and we dropped off further. The difficulty is that Barcelona had a very good season. They didn't drop many points, they have conceded very few goals and shown great consistency. We struggled in the tough spell after the World Cup and we were some way off our best”.
He continued: "It hasn't been an offensive issue, we have scored a lot of goals this season. We're top scorers in LaLiga. We've struggled a bit at the back. There is talk of signing a forward but if you look at the numbers, we have to sign a defender. Not a goalkeeper, because we have the best in the world. That shows that statistics can be misleading at times”.
Demanding nature of recent games: “We're not thinking about trying things for next season. In these games, the aim is to respect the shirt we wear. To fight to the end, these are the values of this club. The players have to show discipline and professionalism. There aren't any trophies in play but these things are huge motivators”.
On Nacho: “His future is in his hands. He can stay here and continue to have everyone's support. We know what he contributes, which is an awful lot. With everything he's brought us in the past, we know exactly what he offers. I think the club has spoken with him to renew his contract and he is weighing up the best solution. The season ends in a week and everything will get cleared up”.
The season: “If I look at our performance in the league, it's not been great and I don't feel good about it. If I assess the season as a whole, it's been good. If I have to look at the last couple of seasons, they have been spectacular. If I had to provide an assessment of the four years, I would sign up now to repeat that right now. Winning two Champions Leagues, making two semi-finals, winning a LaLiga title and all the other trophies possible. I have won ten titles in four years and if I were told I could win another ten over the next four years, I'd sign up for that without thinking twice. I'm not the only one, I think the club feels the same”.
Defensive signings: “The issue we had down the left-hand side was the big injury to Mendy, that's caused us problems. But we have faith in him, he's a very strong fullback. He did a great job last year, he's struggled a bit this time around. There is a young lad coming through he can do a good job for us and we don't need to think too much more about it because the defence is in good shape”.
Tchouameni: “He surprised everyone in the first half of the season. He's very young and he's coming to Real Madrid, which is not easy for a young lad. You have to adapt. He came in to replace a legend in Casemiro and he's done a fantastic job. He dropped off a bit after the World Cup but he's not third choice. He's a guy who has to adapt a little more but he will be a crucial player for us going forward. He had a superb first half of the season and just fell away a little in the second half. That's to be expected from a young player in their first year at Real Madrid”.
Forwards: “We're going to work on improving the squad. I don't like to discuss names. There are lots of players and teams involved in very important stages of the season. I like Joselu very much, as I do other forwards. I also love Aspas, Morata… to name some Spanish players. I like a lot of forwards, you always like a striker who gets goals”.
On Hazard: “What Hazard needs to do, I will discuss with him, I won't be doing that here. I'm surprised you don't have the patience to wait until tomorrow for the line-up. I have never given my team on the day before a game. Hazard has a contract, so we imagine he'll stay here. Of course, like any player who has a contract, if they're not happy, they have to ask the club to leave, or if they're happy with the contract, they'll stay here”.
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