Ancelotti rallies troops ahead of Madrid derby

Andy West 10:14 02/03/2014
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  • Carlo Ancelotti has demanded his Real team plays with “courage and personality” in today’s crucial derby with Atletico Madrid.

    With Los Blancos entering the weekend three points ahead of both their local rivals and faltering Barcelona, the game carries significant implications for the title race.

    Arguably, a defeat would effectively end Atletico’s dreams of capturing their first title since 1996, while three points for Real would set them up perfectly for the Clasico against Barca at the Bernabeu in three weeks’ time.

    Ancelotti, however, denied that today’s encounter could allow his team to take a decisive step towards winning the league.

    “The season is very long and we still have a lot of games to play,” he said. “It’s an important game but nothing is decisive at the moment.”

    Calling upon his players to focus upon their responsibilities at both ends of the pitch, Ancelotti added: “It will be an intense and difficult game, and there will be a lot of pressure but that’s normal for a derby.

    “We will try to play our football as well as we can. To beat Atletico we’ll have to play with courage and determination, and give our maximum in defence as well as attack.

    “We’re three points ahead so you could say we’re favourites, but they have the advantage of playing at home and everyone knows how their fans help them.”

    Ancelotti’s team come into the game in tremendous form, having put together a 27-game unbeaten run since defeat against Barca at the Nou Camp in October and delivering a sensational display to destroy Schalke 6-1 in Wednesday’s Champions League tie.

    But Ancelotti, who can call upon a full squad with the exception of long-term injury victim Sami Khedira, warned his team against complacency, saying: “We have to be careful because things can change very quickly in football.

    “It’s difficult to win and we have to go from game to game. Right now we’ve got a very important league game and it’s not good to think about winning everything now.”

    Atletico boss Diego Simeone, meanwhile, has attempted to reduce the pressure on his players by claiming Real are favourites for the meeting.

    Simeone’s men haven’t lost a league game at their Vicente Calderon Stadium all season, but they head into today’s derby with fresh memories of last month’s 2-0 defeat against Real in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie, contributing to a morale-deflating 5-0 aggregate loss.

    And their Argentine manager said: “The favourites are always the leaders. They are always the best.”

    Atletico have struggled in recent weeks, suffering consecutive away defeats against relegation-threatened Almeria and Osasuna, but Simeone claims to be unconcerned by the criticism that has been aimed in his team’s direction.

    “The media will always be critical and it’s not worth getting upset about that,” he said. “If you’d said that at the beginning of March we’d be three points behind the leaders, I would have taken it.”

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