Ancelotti: “We’re trying to push higher”

Carlo Ancelotti outlines changes in the approach that Real Madrid has been using up to now. “We are trying to be more intense, aggressive, press higher. I see that the team can do it”, the Italian coach stressed in the preview of the match that will measure the whites with Rayo in Vallecas, corresponding to the twenty-sixth day of the League. “This season we started without a very clear system. Sometimes we defended with a 4-4-2 and after the loss against Espanyol we tried to defend with a low block. It went well for us, but afterwards it was harder for us to enjoy the counterattack. We are thinking of using a higher block, pressing higher to have control when we don’t have the ball », he insisted.

The criticism received after the defeat suffered against PSG in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 seems to have permeated Ancelotti, who wants his team to be more of a protagonist with the ball, although without giving up on the counterattack, a scenario that he considers ideal to maximize the virtues of its attackers. Last weekend’s victory against Alavés has calmed the waters and the transalpine faces the last four months of competition with confidence. “I am optimistic. We have to evaluate what happens. We have said that we have not had a good period after the Super Cup. We have suffered a bit for many reasons, but we are better. The game against Alavés has given good sensations, with a good reaction in the second half », he asserted.

Carletto predicted “a difficult game” against Rayo, a team that “has done very well, especially at home.” Bale will not be in it, who, as confirmed by the coach, has suffered minor discomfort in recent days. “Tomorrow Bale is not going to play because, like Alaba, he has had an overload this week,” he revealed.

Two finals before PSG

Rayo’s is the first of the two games that the Whites will have to play before hosting PSG in a clash without a net in which they will be without Casemiro or Mendy, who have been sanctioned for accumulating yellow cards. But Ancelotti does not even want to hear about rehearsals ahead of the confrontation with the Parisian team because, as he recalled, it is essential not to fail in the domestic championship. “It is an idea that can be used if we had friendly matches, but before PSG we have two finals. Winning in Vallecas and winning against Real Sociedad would mean a lot for the League and I’m going to bring in the best team. A player who can replace Casemiro is Kroos and he does not need to get used to this position because he has done it many times », he replied when questioned about the possibility of using those two league duels as a test bench for the Champions League.

Ancelotti referred to the improvement experienced by Barça, whom he does not rule out in the League. “I have seen all the matches. He has done very well because it is not easy to win in Napoli. He has played a very complete game. Barcelona is always a team that can fight for the league. They have a disadvantage but they are doing very well », commented a coach who, he said, would not play a dinner that Real Madrid is going to be champion. “I don’t bet, it doesn’t make sense. We are doing well in the League and we have to continue », he explained.

Lastly, he spoke about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is directly affected by the Real Madrid squad, such as Andriy Lunin, born in the country that has been invaded by Vladimir Putin’s troops. «I have spoken with Lunin and so has the president to show him our love. It is a difficult time for him. War is horrible. The only thing we can do is be close and show him our love,” Ancelotti stressed, expressing his astonishment at the international situation. “It is very rare that this can happen in 2022, but it is happening. Our life is going to change. Hopefully it can be fixed soon. My grandfather was in the First World War and my father was in the Second and they have told me many things. It is a horror », he abounded.