Carlo Ancelotti has spoken about his approach to Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League semi-final date with Manchester City.
The Italian manager was asked what he plans to do about the threat of Erling Haaland and he calmly stated that Pep Guardiola’s team has lots of dangerous players in its ranks alongside the Norwegian.
Haaland is on a record-breaking spree across all competitions this season. Since switching the German Bundesliga for the Premier League, he has broken the single season scoring record in the Premier League and has also broken the single season scoring record for a player from an English club.
He is currently the highest goalscorer in the Champions League with 12. He could win the top scorer award if the season finishes like this, provided Vinicius Junior does not score at least six goals between now and then. This will make him the first player from an English club to win the award.
He is a target for Real Madrid in the future, but for now, they will be faced with the daunting task of stopping him from adding them to his list of casualties in the Champions League this season.
Ancelotti’s team have shown themselves to be much better at cup tournaments this season and that includes the Champions League. With the opportunity to win their 15th title, Haaland will only make them more spurred to push for the incredible achievement.
This is the mentality that Ancelotti is instilling in his side as they prepare to tackle Pep Guardiola, who is still smarting from being knocked out by a loan goal at this same stage of the competition last season by Madrid.
Ancelotti, however, is experienced enough to know that Haaland is not the only player at City he has to worry about. Speaking ahead of the tie with the media at a press conference, the four time Champions League-winning manager said: “We are not preparing a match to stop a player, we are preparing to stop an entire team who looks unstoppable.
“Manchester City didn’t change their style to accommodate Haaland, they have more options vertically with him using long balls and a more direct approach,” he said. “But they are still a team that work the ball really well.”
Ancelotti will hope that his defence can withstand the pressure from Guardiola’s team, who will all be fuelled by Haaland’s hunger for goals which, at the moment, is ravenous and unmatched in all of world football.
The Italian will also hope that his main men, Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema, can strike fear into the hearts of the City backline when they visit the Santiago Bernabeu later on Tuesday.
