Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is anticipating an intense encounter with crosstown rivals Atlético tomorrow but doesn’t think spectators will see “an ugly game”. The coach, who refused to be drawn on his starting XI, attended reporters on the eve of the match.
Varane: “I’ve thought about including him in the line-up because he’s playing well but I’ll decide on my team tomorrow. I’ll field my best side for this game. The whole squad is available and all of them are in conditions to play”.
Bad-tempered derby clashes: “I think it will be an intense game, derbies always are but I don’t think it will be an ugly game. I am expecting a difficult match. We’ll try to win by playing our style of football but to beat Atletico you need to play as best as you can”.
Simeone has marked Madrid as the favourites: “It’s normal to feel pressure ahead of a game like this – a match between two sides who are both battling to win the league; two great sides. It’s about how you handle that pressure. To say that we are the favourites or not... we’re three points clear and so, in a sense, we are favourites but Atlético have an advantage because they’re playing at the Calderón. We all know how their fans get behind them at home”.
Options of winning the treble: “We’re not thinking about that. We have a lot of games left to play and it’s difficult to win every match. We have to be focused and take each game as it comes. It’s good to think about winning – but one game at a time”.
Victory in the Calderón: “We must play to our best level in attack and defence. We have to play with courage and personality. To win, we need to be better than Atlético in everything”.
Arbeloa: “When he’s played he has shown that he’s focused and in good conditions. He’s been alert in defence for us and he hasn’t had any problems. If he continues like this, I think he’ll have a good chance of going to the World Cup”.
A Madrid victory tomorrow would nudge Atlético out of the title race? “The season is very long. This is a very important game – it’s a chance for us to pull six points clear of Atlético but at the moment, nothing is decisive”.
Xabi Alonso: “He has the quality and intelligence to play in any system. I have been playing three in the centre but the forwards are working hard too. Cristiano, Benzema and Bale are scoring but they’re also winning the ball back for us and you really notice that. Xabi’s position is little more comfortable now because the others are helping out”.
Simeone: “He’s doing a fantastic job. Atlético have won a lot of trophies during the past few years thanks to him. They have a clear identity in their style of play and they have character – all hallmarks of how Simeone works”.
Bale: “He is improving mentally and physically and you can really see that out on the pitch. He scored a wonderful goal against Elche and played well against Schalke. His confidence is improving and he’s combining well with the rest of the team”.
Secret formula: “There isn’t one. I have a very professional squad who understand the importance of working hard and working well. We have had time to achieve that. However we need to be careful but in football, things can change from one day to the next. We have to make sacrifices to continue this good moment of form”.
Madrid’s run of results at the Calderón: “I don’t think that statistics come into it with these kinds of games. Madrid hadn’t won in Germany for a long time but we won there the other night. For me, statistics don’t mean anything. We played well in our previous matches but this is a different game and statistics won’t have any effect on tomorrow’s derby”.
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