Madrid (AFP)
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, the defending champion, said that his team must stop its entire English rival, Manchester City, and not just its brilliant Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, on the eve of the upcoming confrontation between them in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
The 14-time champion, which is a record, hosts the Spanish coach Pep Guardiola and his deadly striker Halland, who scored 51 goals in 45 games in various competitions this season, including 12 goals in 8 matches in the main continental competition.
Despite the frightening numbers of the 22-year-old scorer in his first season with “Citizens”, Ancelotti confirmed that his plan was to try to stop the entire City team, which seemed to be “unstoppable”.
The Italian coach added in a press conference held before the upcoming confrontation: “It is clear that Haaland is a very dangerous player. He shows great qualities, especially in scoring goals. He is a clear threat.”
And he continued, “Just talking about Haaland means not talking about a whole team that plays good football, defends well, attacks, and has ideas,” stressing that Real is not only preparing for “a match to stop Halland, but to stop a team that seems unstoppable, but I think That we can have chances to have an equal match, one that we can win.”
City is seeking to win the title of the main continental competition for the first time in its history, after failing to achieve this several times, the last of which was its runner-up for compatriot Chelsea in 2021 (losing 0-1), but Haaland’s superiority may give him an additional dose of confidence to take revenge on Real, who had pulled him out of the box. Golden last season and reach the final.
And the coach of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and the former Italian Milan, praised City, saying: “It is a more integrated team than last year. They had the Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, but with different characteristics than Haaland.”
And he added, “Today they can benefit more from long balls because of their long striker, and behind him the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, so they can win balls in the air,” and “they haven’t changed their style. They are very well organized in the back and a team that handles the ball very well.”
#Ancelotti #plan #stop #City #Haaland