Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti speaking ahead of the Champions League group match against Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium
The Italian, back in Naples where he worked before taking the reins at Everton, seemed happy to be back. He is aware of the challenge awaiting his Real Madrid, which he describes as the best club in the world.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in Italy. It will be a competitive and balanced match. We are playing against a team that has a high level, that has a lot of good individuals and that has an atmosphere that will push them to move forward. We must repeat the good things we did in Girona.
Asked what exactly he expected from the game against Girona, whether it was the team composition or something else, Ancelotti recalled what was a constant message for him last season: “There are doubts for this match.
“There are doubts for this match, that’s normal. For me it is very clear and yes there are many options… but we will see what happens. We have to choose the eleven, the basis being the attitude with which we defended, which was good. It is the most important. If we keep a clean sheet, we have a better chance of winning than losing.”
Ancelotti constantly asked his team to defend better last season, and his phrase that he preferred his defenders to be pessimistic was mentioned throughout the past campaign. The general feeling is that Ancelotti believes that if his team can keep a clean defense they will find a way to score. Since the start of the season, Real Madrid have managed 5 clean sheets in nine matches, despite the absences of Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois, but in each of these other four matches, the Whites conceded first.
