Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid’s veteran coach, wants to avoid a “goalkeeping incident” and returns Kepa Arrizabalaga to the starting position after his injury. “I don’t think about being fair or unfair because leaving someone on the bench would be unfair in every game. It’s good that Lunin has had the opportunity, which he hasn’t had in the past, to constantly demonstrate his qualities, and he “We are very pleased that we have a reliable goalkeeper. Kepa did not need to prove this with his career, but we must remember that Kepa has always performed very well,” the Italian explained.

Addressing the goalkeeping issue, Ancelotti used much of the press conference ahead of the final group stage match of the 2023/2024 Champions League – against Union Berlin in Germany – to praise his players. “I’m not a Real Madrid legend, I’m just a coach. Legends are players who have had a fantastic career and for me it should end here,” Ancelotti said, referring to players such as Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Nacho. Fernandez.

The Italian coach took the opportunity to refer to the continuity of Toni Kroos, whose contract expires in 2024: “There are players here who choose what they want to do and the club has so much respect for them that they deserve the opportunity to choose. what they are doing, what they will do in the future,” he concluded.

Ahead of the match and whether this is a good opportunity to rest Jude Bellingham, the Madrid coach warned that his “idea” is to “have a good look at how those who played on Saturday against Betis have recovered” to “pick the eleven best.” “Those who played are not tired and none of them have problems. If someone has recovered well, they will rest, but the idea is not to rotate for the sake of it, this is done if there is a risk of occurrence problems,” he emphasized.

Asked once again about the Englishman and his comparison with Kaká, he recalled that the Brazilian “got into the box a lot with the ball, but he didn’t have the same quality of getting into the box without the ball as Bellingham.” “We don’t always play with a fixed striker and that gives him more opportunities to reach the center of the box with more space to shoot. With Kaka it was a different system,” Ancelotti said.

He also praised Brahim Diaz, who “played very well defensively” during his time at Milan. “He worked hard and came back in optimal tactical shape. He always positions himself very well without the ball and that’s quite rare to see in a striker of his quality because it’s usually harder for those players to find the ball.” tactical position without the ball,” he said.

“Historically, Real Madrid are always candidates to win this competition, no matter what happens in the group stage. We did well and obviously it is always difficult to win it, but we have the qualities to fight until the end,” he emphasized about his team’s chances of winning the Champions League.

At the moment, they have achieved the goal of passing the first stage and as the first. “We have done well so far and we want to finish well, with a good game and a good image. This is a special competition and we must respect it by playing well, plus our professionalism and seriousness are also at stake.” He admitted.

The Real Madrid coach spoke about the Union Berlin team, which “with the new coach changed their system and strategy of the game.” “They will play more aggressively than in the first match and we have to respect them. They want to win their first game in this tournament and it will be interesting and even,” he said.

Finally, he mentioned Girona’s victory over Barcelona, ​​although he avoided “giving a speech about the tactics of the game.” “It was a very interesting match in which both teams tried to win the match and Girona were better because they did better. Girona’s ability to be at this level with such personality and such character is surprising,” he said.