Carlo Ancelotti has called on his Real Madrid players to play with more intensity in the second-leg of their Spanish Supercopa match against Atletico de Madrid tonight.
Despite having the better of the chances at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday evening, Los Blancos were held to a 1-1 draw by Los Rojiblancos, allowing Diego Simeone’s men to have a slight advantage going into this evening’s match.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the game, Ancelotti said everyone knows how Atletico will play – defensively, with men behind the ball, looking to break quickly when they can. And he called on his players to take the game to their hosts and play a high intensity match.
“Atlético won’t change their style and will play as they did at the Bernabéu because they have the advantage given the positive result. To win at the Calderón we must play with intensity and more velocity than in the first leg,” Ancelotti stated.
And he added: “We are used to playing against Atlético and they’re used to us. They will try to take advantage of the chances on the counterattack and strategic plays. We played the second half of the first leg more quickly and not as slow as the first half.”
The Champions League-winning boss also refused to give much away in terms of his line up, but revealed Cristiano Ronaldo had trained as normal and would start if he was passed fit.
“I’m not going to say what the XI is, but I will change various positions on the pitch”. Cristiano Ronaldo trained with the side today as usual. He is fine and is available for tomorrow. If he’s available, he could start,” Ancelotti told reporters.
Give the unstoppable Di Maria a chance to start
u ar right anceloti