The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, did not hide the difficulty of coming back on Wednesday against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg, but assured that “the atmosphere is very good and we can do it”.
“I think it’s very difficult, but we have an incredible opportunity to play another final after winning the League, the atmosphere is very good and we can do it,” Ancelotti assured at a press conference on Tuesday.
“We are very confident that we can come back, because we know that in the first match we did not play our best game and we scored three goals, tomorrow we are going to do our best and we will see if it is enough to be in the final”, he said, for his part, the Croatian Luka Modric.
Real Madrid hosts City on Wednesday with the mission of overcoming the 4-3 loss conceded in the first leg.
“The tie is open, we have a small disadvantage that we want to fix tomorrow,” added the merengue coach, warning that it will be necessary to combine mentality and quality.
“Winning tomorrow is not done only with heart, with the boost that the Bernabéu will give, it will also be due to individual quality, due to collective commitment,” Ancelotti said.
“The game has to be complete, the low block has to be better than in the first leg, the pressure has to be well done to avoid passing between the lines, the transitions,” he said.
“We’re not going to propose a low block game, but I know there are moments in the game that will be a low block just as there are moments when we’ll have to press high and hard,” Ancelotti said.
The Italian coach announced that he will not be able to count on the injured Austrian central defender David Alaba.
“Alaba can’t play, he won’t be ready for the game,” explained Ancelotti, who, however, has brought Casemiro back for this match, who couldn’t be in the first leg.
“Casemiro is going to help us, his return reinforces the defensive aspect, we have to improve the collective aspect, move better as a block, be more compact, we have worked on the defensive aspect, I think we are going to see an improvement”, he concluded.
