Carlo Ancelotti insists life is rosy at Real Madrid as his team prepares for today’s trip to rock bottom Real Betis.
The Bernabeu club cut the gap to leading pair Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to three points with a hardfought 1-0 victory at Espanyol on Sunday, and then progressed to the last eight of the Copa del Rey with a 2-0 second leg win over Osasuna.
Even so, Ancelotti had to fend off a string of negative questioning as he spoke ahead of Saturday’s game.
First on the list was Gareth Bale, who has struggled to find form since Christmas and was substituted after an anonymous performance at Espanyol.
Ancelotti was strident in his support of the Welshman.
“Bale’s story is very clear,” he frowned. “He had injury problems in pre-season, then got fit and played really well, scoring a lot of goals and providing a lot of assists. He has done well.
“Bale can improve in his association with his teammates,” Ancelotti added. “But this is completely normal for any player in a new culture, with new football and a new country. He will play on Saturday and I’m sure he’ll play well.”
Another topic up for discussion was the progress – or in one case lack of it – being made by the club’s most promising young strikers, Jese Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata.
Jese has sparkled since being introduced into the first team squad during the autumn, with many fans calling for him to be given more playing time.
Ancelotti called for patience from both those supporters and the young forward, however, saying: “It doesn’t matter whether he’s starting, just whether he plays well when he’s on the pitch, which he has been doing.”
Morata has fared less well this season, struggling to establish a regular place in the matchday squad and making just one start and nine brief substitute appearances.
But the Spain under 21 international will be going nowhere, with Ancelotti saying: “He hasn’t asked to leave and we don’t want him to.”
