Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti expressed his happiness at the 3-1 victory over Sevilla, on Saturday evening, in the 11th round of La Liga, at the Real Madrid stronghold “Santiago Bernabeu”.
Ancelotti said, during statements reported by the Spanish newspaper “ Mundo Deportivo ”: “Valverde was hit in the leg and this annoys him a little, and I do not know his position on participating in Tuesday’s match, and Karim will not be present either, who will return on Sunday against Girona.”
He added: “The substitutes have an amazing position, when they enter the second half they perform well, and we have to keep working.”
“It is a team that I love to coach, because it does not cause me problems and its players are very respectful, and as a team, it is one of the best teams, if not the best in my entire career,” Ancelotti added.
On Benzema, he explained: “Karim is very important to us, and the team is in such a great condition that he was able to replace an important player like him.”
Valverde’s bet
On his bet on Valverde, he revealed: “Last year he scored only one goal, so I risked a lot to ask him to score 10 goals, and he performs very well, and I rarely bet on players.”
And he added: “I am not worried about Benzema because he has a small injury, but he is healthy and motivated.”
And the Italian coach continued: “Valverde’s Ballon d’Or? We have to wait a bit. Karim was recently crowned with the award, and we will see if he will be the winner next year from here.”
He continued: “Asensio? He does not adapt to being a substitute, because he can play as a starter, he plays a little and of course, he deserves more.”
new energy
Ancelotti continued, “Against Sevilla, we had some difficulties in getting the ball back in the first half, while the opponent had the ball in order to reduce the pace of the match. He did it well.”
He explained, “Our energies declined in the second half, and we lost confidence when we conceded the equalizer, but the substitutions made the difference and gave the team energy again. We scored the second goal from a wonderful counter-attack that helped us win the match.”
The 63-year-old added, “The substitutions contributed a lot to the improvement of the team’s performance, and this does not mean that the substituted players performed badly. It is about sources that give you a wonderful bench. Players who suffer from lack of participation have been included, but they make the difference, and this means that the list is strong.”
Real Madrid raised its score to 31 points at the top of the La Liga standings, while Seville’s balance froze at 10 points in the fourteenth place.
