Ancelotti a defense is invented

If in July last year, when the teams were walking, we thought of a Real Madrid-City cross, no one would have succeeded in the forecasts. The tie is going to be played in February, in some sixteen -disguised playful. Too early for the last two champions. In the City, surely he will not play Rodri and there are serious probabilities that they do not do it either Ederson, Bruyne, Bernardo or Fodenall of them by technical decision. In addition, in Madrid the injured are discarded Carvajal, Militao and Rudiger, and Valverde and Tchouaméni They will have to be lateral and central. It is the fourth consecutive tie between Madrid and City, but this time they have changed enough things.

«Madrid has been able to subsist better than us to the casualties and The impact of Asencio has been good. But what happens to them in defense will depend on how we are above, ”says Guardiola. «The state is not so indicative. The City is one of the best teams in Europe. It is the most complicated game we can have. Pep is an innovator of football and I have a lot of respect. Every time we have faced is a nightmare because it always has ideas that make you think, ”says Ancelotti.

The numerous and important casualties in defense of Madrid have no remedy for the return. Only Rudiger has a minimal option to be in the Bernabéu, but that doesn’t assure Carletto. The emergency situation forces you to play without a network and to squeeze how little it has, and that means that Valverde, Tchouaméni, Asencio and Mendy are not free to fall. Or of being sanctioned. Aurelién, for example, is yellow not to play the return, something that also happens to Bellingham, Modric, Camavinga and Endrick.

Valverde, who will have to play as a right side before Lucas’s last decline, injured in the derby, is the player who has played the most minutes (3,207) this season, not only in Madrid but throughout Europe. No one accumulates so much time on the grass and the Uruguayan and for the fifth time in this course (after doing so before Liverpool and Salzburg in Champions and in front of Leganés both in the League and in the Cup) he will have to make a right side. Solutions to an emergency situation in which in no case contemplates the option of Vallejoalthough in theory it is the fourth central of the squad: “Nothing happens with him, everything is fine, but the problem is that the contract is running out and we prefer to give opportunities to young people,” Carletto explained to the question of this newspaper.

Ancelotti’s defensive sudoku conditions the rest of the team. His double starting pivot has other obligations tonight, for which Ceballos and Camavingawho returned in the derby after almost a month injured, will make double pivot and above will play the fantastic four, with the unnegotiable order not to leave the team and help as they did ten months ago: «In modern football if Apply defensively it is more complicated. The defensive discipline of Madrid has made the difference in recent seasons. Look what they did last year here. In the Bernabéu we put two goals out of the area and here they did not let us go once from that area, ”said Guardiola. “The tie will be cool and entertaining,” both coincide.