The third and last Madrid derby to be played in a month, now at the Bernabéu and in the League, is presented as Real Madrid’s opportunity to definitively distance Atlético from the fight for the title (a win would leave them thirteen points away). and for these it is the last train to rejoin the League. Madrid comes into the game with the big doubt of Antonio Rüdiger injured against Getafe and with only one central defender 100%, Nacho. The natural substitute in the squad, Tchouaméni, cannot play due to completing the warning cycle.
Ancelotti was questioned twice in the Valdebebas press room about the words of Xavi Hernández and Jan Laporta ensuring that the League is adulterated in favor of Madrid, but the Italian coach did not want to get involved in the controversy: “I am a professional and, as such, I don’t want to go down to this level. Out of respect for Spanish football. So don’t ask any more questions about this.”
Ancelotti maintained doubts about whether Rüdiger will play but announced that the German will be included in the squad. “He has improved a lot and today we expect the same. We will evaluate him tomorrow and make a decision. It is a blow to a muscle that is not so important, but we must evaluate it. He will be in the squad. And tomorrow I will decide if he plays or not,” he stated.
Tomorrow’s derby will make Simeone, along with Luciano Spalletti, now coach of the ‘azzurra’, the coach Ancelotti has faced the most times (24). When he was reminded of that figure, the Italian praised the Argentine coach: “He is one of the most difficult coaches I have faced because he manages the team very well. He is one of the rivals I respect the most for his ability.” to read the games”.
If Rüdiger does not play, Madrid is considering three options: Carvajal, Mendy or Camavinga. This is how Ancelotti explained it: “Apart from Carvajal and Mendy, the third option would be Camavinga, who has never done it, but due to his characteristics he can do it. He is fast and forceful. Truly, the three options give confidence. In my opinion, the pivot is “The easiest job in football because you have to use your head more than your energy. All three of them could do it well.”
Ancelotti also did not mince words when asked if right now the Madrid derby is a better game than the classic: “They are intense games, with a lot of tension, but it is the same. Both Atlético and Barcelona have everything: quality and organization. The level is very , very high, like in the Champions League.”
The Madrid coach did not clear up the doubt about who will be in goal, whether Lunin, who has played two games in a row, or Kepa: “I’m not going to say who is going to play. Not even they know. They will know tomorrow. They are both fit and I think this situation keeps them motivated. Who plays tomorrow will not be decisive for later because the Champions League begins soon.”
Simeone’s press conference was modeled on the usual because the Argentine coach never escapes clichés and his answers are variations of what he says in the first place: “Tomorrow we have to play a good game against a Real Madrid very well managed by his coach. We will have to take the game to where we can hurt him.”
The coach does not see the decisive match “With so many games ahead (there will be 15 left) we do not have to think about that. We are going to the field of a strong rival that will be supported by its people. The atmosphere in Arabia was similar to the one we will play tomorrow in the Bernabéu. We must arrive very well. Our fans know that we are going to compete well but I don’t know if we are in the best moment of the season because I don’t know what is going to happen later, but it is true that the team has responded very well in recent times matches and we hope to continue along the same lines.
Simeone always speaks well of his rival and this time was no exception: “We have to play a game like the ones we have always played against Madrid. They are one of the best, they never lose or lose little. They have very good locker room management for part of his coach, enormous quality.”
He also did not give a word about his lineup: “I have no doubt who they are going to start. Sometimes I have doubts in the preview, but not this time,” he commented.
If Atlético wins tomorrow, it will have beaten Madrid three times this season (both in the League and the Cup). When Simeone was asked what adjective he would give to that, he did not know what to answer: “What adjective would you give it? Well, win three games.”
