Carlo Ancelotti challenges Manchester City players – 'We played without personality and without courage last year'
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has issued a stinging challenge to his players ahead of the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Manchester Cityasking his team to show more personality than they did last year.
After a 1-1 draw with City at the Santiago Bernabeu last year in the semi-finals, Los Blancos were beaten 4-0 in the return leg, and Ancelotti made it clear what he thought was missing when asked what they had learned
“We played without courage and without personality. It is fundamental in these games. There was a lack of this in the return leg.”
He was also asked if Real Madrid he lacked more than just personality, but rather “football”.
“Of course, we lacked much more than just personality and courage. We didn't manage things in the best way, it wasn't just a lack of mental character, it was also that we lacked technical quality, they pressured us very high, and they looked for us, and we didn't find alternative. solutions to that. Obviously it's something we want to improve this time.”
This year the biggest change in Real Madrid's line-up was the addition of Jude Bellingham in place of Karim Benzema, and the Italian coach was asked if they had more creativity this time around.
“We have different characteristics with the ball, we had Benzema last year, he was a reference, and now we don't have him. We treated this absence with more mobility in the attacking front. And this will be important, not to fix and forward positions.”
Ancelotti He went on to say that he would not “do anything strange” in terms of his defensive line-up, and had not told the players the line-up. The veteran coach did not think about the four players who are at risk of suspension in the second leg if they are booked, namely, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga.
Los Blancos will be without Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba through injury, but Eder Militao is not expected to start tomorrow after only returning from his anterior cruciate ligament injury. Ancelotti will probably select from one of Tchouameni or Nacho Fernandez to partner Antonio Rudiger at the Santiago Bernabeu, if, as he says, he will avoid “strange things”.
