"If Atletico don't give us a guard of honour, I'll respect that" - Ancelotti

Real Madrid are in red-hot form after brushing aside Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Carlo Ancelotti, after a joyful few days, has to frown again as he tries to knock out Atletico in the Copa del Rey last 16, which he previewed at a press conference after training on Wednesday morning.

"Rodrygo needed one more day of low intensity, but he will be fine. The whole squad is available. Apart from the three players with cruciate ligament injuries, Lucas Vazquez is back," he said. "The guard of honour? I respect the decisions of each club. If they do it, perfect; if they don't, perfect all the same. I don't give it importance," he added. "Rodrygo is back to playing at his best, yes," he added, referring to the Brazilian's good performance in Saudi Arabia.

On Brahim Diaz, he analysed: "I think he is back, after two years, with more knowledge on a tactical level and with more strength. He is a more powerful player who stands out in tight spaces. He is very important for us defensively because he does a very important job in any position. Sometimes, I put him on the left and he did well or as a centre forward and he did well. He is complete and helps us a lot.

Addressing Atletico's defeats against Madrid, he said: "I think every game is different. Thursday's game is a knockout, not a league game, so we have to take that into account as well. It changes. We don't just have 90 minutes: it could be extra time, it could be penalties. Whatever happened in the previous games doesn't count now." 

 

January 17, 2024