Real Madrid receives Borussia Dortmund tomorrow, Tuesday, on the third day of the Champions League (the reissue of the last final) and on Saturday Barcelona will be in full analysis of its level of play, much lower than expected at this point in the season. . Carlo Ancelotti stopped by the Valdebebas press room today and analyzed what is happening: “We have to work more as a team to be a little more compact. Sometimes you have the idea of pressing up, but we don’t have the automation. We still lack a little solidity when we have the middle block. And we are still not 100% physically.”
The Real Madrid coach gave many technical details: “A round-trip match is good for us. We have more difficulty in possession and control games because we do not have players to play in small spaces, but rather to take advantage of their characteristics in the open field. Now, we are focused on defending better, that is the key, as we did last year. “We are working on making the team more solid,” he repeated.
Bellingham
The strange thing was last season, not this one
Jude Bellingham has not scored at this point in the season (he had nine goals last year, which ended with 23 goals). For Ancelotti, the team’s problem is not Bellingham: “We are satisfied with his work because he works hard on the field: he competes, he fights, he sacrifices… He has not scored the goals of last year, but the surprise is not this year, but those marked by the past. We don’t lack goals from Bellingham, because we have very talented players in front of us.”
The coach then explained Bellingham’s change of position against Celta: “He changed his position to play on the right because we thought he could find more spaces to enter the second line. The left wing is busier this year and the right wing has been left a little more exposed. “We can be effective with Bellingham and Rodrygo on the right as we are on the left with Vinícius and Mbappé.”
The three central
something circumstantial
Ancelotti explained why in Balaídos he played with three centre-backs the other day: “The three centre-backs were when we had the ball, but without the ball it had to be a line with four defenders, as we have always done and always will do. This team does not defend with five although it may be that at the end of a game and you are winning more goals, five or six to defend, but as an idea there will always be four.”
The coach defended Tchouaméni’s game, highly criticized in Vigo: “Tchouaméni is a very important player because he recovers balls and adapts to many positions. He is a fundamental player. All the work is to have the team as compact as possible. These are things that you have to work on because sometimes they are forgotten if you don’t work on them,” he said.
Mbappe
Your mission is to score goals
Asked what he asks of Mbappé, Ancelotti was very clear: “That he scores goals. I prefer him to score goals rather than press. I ask Mbappé the same thing that I asked Benzema: position himself well to make a quick transition once we recover the ball.” The coach sees no problems up front: “We are working on the defensive aspect. On an offensive level we have many options and possibilities. We are not conceding many goals, it is true, but the rivals have opportunities to score. When we are solid and compact we have more opportunities to win games.”
After Ancelotti, Thibuat Courtois, who had not spoken since the Metropolitano derby three weeks ago, stopped by the press room: “I respect Simeone’s opinion but I do not share it. We have another idea of what a provocation is. The Argentine had accused him of provoking the ultras and asked for a sanction for the players who provoke.
Courtois
“I don’t care about the chants against me. “If there is no violence I don’t see a problem.”
The Belgian goalkeeper spoke about the ultras: “The important thing is that there can be no violence. In Belgium I have experienced many situations like this. I don’t have any problem with those who encourage their team and create a bit of rivalry, I like that, it gives me more adrenaline and more desire. But all from respect for those who are playing. Sometimes there is a bit of play between a player and a fan and that is normal. I have no problem being sung to. If there is no violence, I don’t see a problem. We must eliminate those who want to do harm,” he concluded.
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