Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was very worried before the clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Veteran Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was nervous ahead of his team’s Champions League clash with Manchester City. The team with a record 14-time championship record will host the defending champions in the first leg of the quarter-finals at the Bernabeu.
This is the third consecutive season the two clubs have met in the knockout stages, with Real claiming a remarkable comeback win in the 2022 semi-finals but Man City avenging that loss in emphatic fashion. in last season.
The match will be Ancelotti’s 200th as manager in a competition he has won a record four times, but Ancelotti admits it will not be simple.
The Italian strategist said at a press conference: “Yes, very worried. The hours before the match are what you have to endure.”
“The other day I thought that defeat is suffering and victory is happiness, but that’s not the case. Victory is a relief. It’s happy if you win trophies, but a big win is also a relief, but suffering is part of your job. That’s what keeps you alive. That’s fuel for me.”
Ancelotti faces the coach considered to be the best of his generation, Pep Guardiola. Ancelotti insists he is not interested in comparisons.
“Guardiola is a great coach there’s no doubt about that, I don’t care much what they think of me,” Ancelotti said .
The battle between two of Europe’s top coaches will be very attractive. Real Madrid took the lead in last year’s first leg but Man City fought back to claim a draw before winning convincingly 4-0 in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
“We didn’t play with our courage and character,” Ancelotti said. We lacked that in the second leg. They put a lot of pressure on us and we couldn’t find an alternative. We want to avoid this happening again. I am confident that we will try our best. We have enough quality to compete.”
Today (April 8), Real Madrid officially announced the squad ready to fight Man City, the expected factors such as Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Rudiger,… have all appeared. As Ancelotti said, Real’s squad is good enough to face Man City.
On the opposite side, Man City has just confirmed that Walker and Ake will not return in time for the match in Spain. More or less, that will affect Pep Guardiola’s army. The match between Real vs Man City will take place at 2:00 a.m. on April 10 Vietnam time.
