Barcelona’s defeat against Leganés brought back Madrid’s smile after the bad taste left in their mouths by their draw in Vallecas and Carlo Ancelotti has arrived in Doha with much more peace of mind than a few weeks ago. The Intercontinental Cup is seen in the White House as a minor but very affordable tournament and Carlo Ancelotti tried to highlight it: “We take this as a reward for ourselves.” He also doesn’t expect it to be easy: “All games are trap games. Pachuca is a team that has come this far and that is because it has something. He is a rival that deserves our respect, for what he is and for his quality. A final is always exciting and is a special feeling. Before the game you worry and you think about every possible aspect, but I trust my team,” he said.
Madrid has not yet met the high expectations generated in the summer and has had an irregular season. Ancelotti also responded to that: “Real Madrid had just had a fantastic season and won the League and the Champions League last year and in the summer they signed the best player in the world. So everyone thought it would be a ride. And football is not a walk, but rather fighting and fighting every game. We can’t control the results, because sometimes you deserve to win and lose… or lose and win. In the world of football, one plus one is not always two.”
The problem
Loss of balance
The coach talked about why his team is not as good as last season: “We changed some things and lost balance. We have also had some injuries and that has deprived us of our best level. It’s normal when changes happen. It’s time to modify the system, the strategy, adapt. It is not something new in football. I’m not happy, but I am satisfied. “We have gone through difficult times and we have improved and when this happens the bloc becomes stronger,” he stated.
As is his custom, Ancelotti spoke well of the rival: “We have seen Pacchuca’s match against Botafogo and their semi-final against Al Ahly. It has its characteristics and, of course, for them it will be a very important match. They have players that we know, like Rondón and good young people. He is dynamic, he pushes… It will be an entertaining duel.”
The rival
Pachuca, a very dynamic team
Ancelotti commented on Mbappé’s moment: “Kylian is a fantastic player and, honestly, I think he has not yet reached his best level. In recent games he has improved, but he is not at his best yet. He can play in any position: forward, left… wherever you put him. With the quality he has, he can play wherever he wants.”
And he continued: “Mbappé trained well yesterday, with good feelings. He did sprints and everything went well. This afternoon is an important training session, where we will evaluate the sensations and the risk. If he is fine, talking to the doctors, he will play. If there is a minimum risk, obviously not, but the sensations were very good and we are optimistic.”
Bellingham
Complaints to the calendar
Before Ancelotti, Jude Bellingham stopped by the press room and complained about the schedule: ”The number of games is to blame for the high number of injuries (27). The staff is looking for solutions to see what we need, trying to manage this… and doing it very well. But the load of minutes accumulates, causes fatigue and that takes its toll. There comes a point that affects performance, especially when you compete against strong rivals and need speed. But it is what it is. We have to play many games and we will try to do our best. In the summer I was able to rest a lot, but now we have games every three days…“, he stated.
They also asked Bellingham how he has changed since he played the World Cup in Qatar here two years ago: ”I don’t think it has changed. I would say that I am still myself, nothing more. I don’t regret my decisions. And I try not to look back too much, but forward. “I’m happy with how things have turned out,” he said.
He also did not comment on his preferred position on the field: ”Wherever Ancelotti puts me. That’s what I can say right now.”
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