On Saturday night Real will return to Bernabeu to play vs Valencia. Valencia is a side which has been suffering a bit from time to time this year and they are not where they want to be but hey remain a strong side with lots of quality that would put in difficulty any team. In the latest matches they have been getting mostly positive results and they will surely climb upper in the table. Real Madrid lost points last week vs Getafe and another slip would be very dangerous for Ancelotti’s men since the 2nd place is not far at all.
Carlo Ancelotti has named the following squad for the game against Valencia on LaLiga matchday 20. Goalkeepers: Courtois, Lunin and Diego; Defenders: Militão, Alaba, Vallejo, Nacho, Marcelo and F. Mendy; Midfielders: Kroos, Modrić, Casemiro, Valverde, Lucas V., D. Ceballos, Isco and Camavinga; Forwards: Hazard, Benzema, Asensio, Vini Jr. and Rodrygo.
The Italian coach appeared via videoconference to speak to the press ahead of the team's LaLiga matchday 20 meeting with Valencia at the Santiago Bernabéu (9:00pm CET). The coach said: “It’s a game against a team that are having a good spell and are very well organised. We have to get back to playing how we were before the Christmas break. The team is in pretty good shape, we've got a few players back who were out with niggles and we're focused on taking three points".
He continued: “There are lots of things to assess, such as the amount of possession you have. When you have more of the ball, there’s less opportunity to make fouls. Each team has their own style and it’s a single statistic in that sense. It doesn't mean much. Valencia defend very well, with real intensity. It's normal in football. When we're defending, we need to bring intensity to our duels too, it's to be expected”.
Elche in the Copa del Rey draw: “We can't take it easy because everyone knows the Copa del Rey is important for every team. Everyone is excited about this competition. It's a game we'll have to prepare for properly and it's tougher because we're away from home, I don’t believe there's any such thing as a good or bad draw. It's the draw and we have to prepare well because the Copa del Rey is a crucial competition for everyone".
Vini Jr.: “I think it’s a bit much to claim there’s dependence at Real Madrid. We have a player who has done brilliantly in the early part of the season and who has helped us win games, just like Benzema and Militão have done. Of course, Vini Jr. has been important for us in the first half of the season. He’s back, in good shape and everyone’s happy. Vini Jr. gives you running in behind, he’s strong one-on-one, he’s swift on the counter and gets goals too. If I had to highlight one thing, it’s pretty clear that if you give him space, he can be very, very dangerous”.
Valverde: “He's got his role in this team. At times, it's a more important part, and sometimes it’s less so, but he’s got a part to play. He's a player I trust deeply because he has such quality, I don't expect anything more of him than what he's doing. It's true he perhaps hasn’t played as much lately as he did early on, but that comes with the competition that exists at Real Madrid. Modric, Casemiro and Kroos have had more game time so far but I'm pleased with all the guys who have played less than those three. They've done their job whenever they have been called upon".
Hazard: “Right now, what he's missing is getting back to playing with the same confidence he used to show. He's getting closer to his best and I hope we can see that on the pitch again soon".
Protests over refereeing: “I did let frustration get the better of me over the last couple of games. I have the utmost respect for referees and the level is good in Madrid. Perhaps coaches get things wrong from the bench at times too. We have to improve in the areas we mentioned following the Cádiz and Getafe games, offensively against compact teams. We have to get better behind the lines, with more well-executed vertical passes. That’s what we’re looking at, we’re watching videos because there’s not a lot of time to train at the moment”.
Sevilla: “Everyone is a threat because Getafe aren’t fighting to win LaLiga but when you play against them, you can have problems as we found. Sevilla are a well organised team with an experienced coach and they’re tough rivals, as are the rest. We have to focus on our path and do things well as we have done for the first half of the campaign”.
Respect for the coach: “It’s not a sporting matter, it’s more a social issue (laughs). The relationship has changed as generations change. I don’t think the respect I had with my father is the same as what my son has with me. The respect I had for my teachers is not the same as how students respect their teachers today. The world has changed. It’s not complicated, just different. It’s a generation that has less respect for authority”.
Bale: “We still don’t know yet. He’s not available for the Valencia game, and the same goes for Mariano, Jović and Carvajal. That said, Carvajal will travel to Arabia because he could be back in contention and I think Jović will do the same, although we won’t push him. The ones we really need to assess ahead of Arabia are Mariano and Bale. Bale has a back problem, it’s a bit of a strain, he’s not comfortable. He can’t push himself to 100% and until he can get back 100% fit, we can’t use him”.
Transfer window: “It’s not something we’ve discussed because as I have said before, if players want to leave, they can talk to the club. At this stage, I think everyone is happy, they want to fight with Real Madrid this season, so there’s nothing else to say there”.
Injuries: “It’s an area we’re managing pretty well, aside from the issues we’ve had with the positive tests. We’ve managed the muscular injury side of things well these last few months despite a very loaded schedule which makes it easy to pick up problems, but I’m fairly happy in this regard”.
Ceballos: “It was a case of what happens when a player is eager to play and wants to get back. I wanted to give Ceballos some playing time, as I explained to him. I didn’t feel it was the right game for him after an injury, at a ground where he might have had problems but he still wanted to play. So when I thought I’d bring him on, there were 5 minutes left and I waited just a bit longer. I told him that perhaps he was right, he may have got a bit angry but that’s all it was. I have faith in him”.
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