Carlo Ancelotti passed through the Etihad press room with his relaxed and somewhat sarcastic style. He denied that there is a pessimistic atmosphere in the club or in the fans: “I think that Real Madrid fans are calm. I don’t see them being restless. The Madrid fans in this competition, rather than being restless, are happy because we have always performed well.” .
The Italian coach knows perfectly well that the statistics are not favorable to him (Madrid has never won at the Etihad and City has gone 22 games without losing in the Champions League), but he did not seem to give it too much importance: “I have always believed that the statistics are for break them. There are many fields where Real Madrid had never won and then they did. Last year’s 4-0 win doesn’t keep me up at night. It will only keep me awake tonight if I eat too much,” he said, smiling.
Asked if he was preparing something special on a tactical level for tomorrow’s match, Ancelotti smiled again: “No. The two teams know each other very well. Pep can stay calm because I’m not going to do magic or anything (strange).”
The coach did not reveal how his team will play: “We are planning to play a complete game, we need to attack and defend well. It is not worth it to play well on the counterattack. I think we must give a complete performance. We are not focused on just one aspect.” .
Ancelotti had a lot of praise for Bellingham: “He is a very good player, a modern player, with a lot of quality and very strong physically. He can cover many spaces and is going to be one of the most important players of the future for Real Madrid. Sometimes we forget who is only 20 years old…”-
Before Ancelotti passed through the press room, Jude Bellingham himself, who assured that he had changed his game a little in the last two months: “With so many injuries we have had to adapt to different situations, making small changes that have worked. I can work in many positions, I have demonstrated it. When I say that I have had to change things about myself it is because I have been given some small instructions, not so much a radical change of position.
Bellingham is cautious: “We know that they are unpredictable. You can think of one player and another messes up. We have to defend and work as a team. We have to be brave. We have to make adjustments and be true to who we are,” he said. .
The Englishman was not in the squad last year, but he commented on what happened: “”I spoke to some of the boys. It affected them a lot. I also had tough defeats. You have to understand that it is a new party. You don’t start 4-0 down. “All my teammates are in professional mode and we have confidence.”
