Real Benitez has called on his players to go out and put pressure on Levante on Saturday afternoon.
Los Blancos resume La Liga duties after the two week international break and have a somewhat injury hit squad after a number of players picked up knocks while away. Karim Benzema picked up a hamstring problem while Luka Modric and Daniel Carvajal also returned with fitness issues.
But the boss said whoever plays needs to show intensity against a well organised opponent.
Speaking at his press conference, he stated: “We’ll have to put pressure on Levante from the very first minute because they’re a well-organised side, they play with intensity and have a clear game plan. The key is to play with speed, precision and patience”.
“Their manager is a strong tactician. In Barcelona they kept things tight during the first half, and made it to the break with the score level at 0-0. Our players need to clearly understand that we have to play with speed and consistency and try to get an early goal to open things up.”
Speaking about the injury situation, the manager said there is little that can be done, and as a big club, Real are more at risk of injuries because so many players get picked for their countries.
“Teams that play one game per week also have lots of injuries to deal with. 57% of our players’ muscle injuries occur when they’re with their national teams and there’s very little we can do about that. There’s no way of controlling injuries sustained from knocks either. For the top sides the risk of injury is greater because there are more players and more chances of injuries being picked up. All we can do is try to manage the situation.”
