El Derbi madrileño: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid discussion

Carlo Ancelotti appeared before the media the day before the league match against Atlético. The Italian coach discussed the derby, which takes place in the Vicente Calderón: “It will be an intense match, but that is normal. It will be difficult and complicated, but we are going to try and play our game as well as possible. To beat Atlético we have to play with courage and personality. We have to be at our best both in defence and attack. It is a long season and we still have a lot of games left. Nothing is final at this point”.

“Pressure is normal in this match and you have to deal with it. First because it's a derby, and then because it is between two teams who are in the fight for La Liga and also because they're big teams. We have a three-point advantage and you could say that we are favourites, but they also are because they have the home advantage and everyone knows that their fans help them”.

His team's spectacular form
“There's no specific recipe. We have to be careful because things can change quickly in football. You have to do everything to keep the form going”.

“We are not thinking of the treble because we have a lot of matches to go. It is difficult to win the matches and we have to concentrate on one match at a time. We have an important league game and it would not be good to think about winning everything at the moment”.

Simeone's work
“I think he is doing a fantastic job and his team has won a lot of titles thanks to his work. A coach teaches his team his own virtues and Atlético has its own identity thanks to his work”.

I HAVE A VERY PROFESSIONAL SQUAD THAT KNOWS THE MEANING OF TEAMWORK.

“Statistics do not affect this kind of game. The other day we did not have a good history in Germany and we won. Statistics don't tell me anything and tomorrow will be a different game”.

Changes in defence
“Varane is fine, but I am not going to publish my team-sheet today. Tomorrow I will make a decision and I'll put out the best team. The whole squad is fine and available to play. That is the important thing”.

“Arbeloa has proved he is fit and very focused. He is great defensively and if he continues like that he will have a good chance of going to the World Cup. He really wants to go”.

Bale and Benzema's form
“Bale is starting to get back to a really good level of fitness. After his great goal against Elche he played well against Schalke. His confidence is growing, and he is combining well with the rest of the team”.

“Benzema is maintaining his quality. He has a fantastic ability to find the net and is not just a striker but also a provider, he helps the team in possession, he is comfortable and he pressures the opposition. I hope he continues like that”.

The importance of Xabi Alonso
“Xabi has the ability and intelligence to play in any system. His position is very important for the balance of the team, but the reality is that all the strikers are working well on winning the ball back and pressuring up front. That helps the whole team”.

Khedira's recovery
“We are feeling the absence of Khedira because he is an important player. He is recovering well and he has started to run. Everything is going well and in 15 or 20 days he will return to Madrid and start to work with the team. Let's hope he can play before the end of the season. There is a lot of competition in the centre of the pitch and making a choice with Khedira is not easy, it is even more difficult without him”.

Doc wrote:
Don't worry Carlo, we all make mistakes.

Yohan Modric wrote:Last time we played Atletico, Arbeloa and Coentrao played and we won 3-0. Problem this game was we struggled with the high pressing, whereas in the 3-0 win Atletico didn't press high. Dealing with high pressure still seems to be an underlying problem that is yet to be fixed.

sportsczy wrote:Didn't Coentrao last 15 mins before getting injured the last time though and got replaced by Marcelo... who then got injured too???

Carlo Ancelotti has described Atletico Madrid’s approach in the derby against Real Madrid as ‘violent’.

The sides played out a 2-2 draw that was marked by a number of on and off-the-ball altercations and Ancelotti said at his post-match Press conference that Atleti’s style of play was ‘rude’.

Asked by a reporter to explain if he meant intense or violent, Ancelotti replied that he meant the latter.

“I mean Atletico tried to play a violent match, not our style,” the Italian confirmed.

“[Our response] was just to play, to think only of playing and not other things.

“We must take the draw. It was a difficult game. We tried to play but it was not so easy.

“Our second half was very good. In the first half, after [Karim Benzema’s] goal, we tried to defend high up but we let Atletico back into the game.

“Atletico had more difficulty in the second half because we moved the ball across our front line, left to right.

“We were not patient in the first half. They got tired in the second.

“We lost the ball too easily in the first half, that’s why Atletico could get into the game.”

Ancelotti also explained his reasoning behind starting Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao at full-back before bringing on both Marcelo and Dani Carvajal.

“Arbeloa and Coentrao were fresh,” Ancelotti said.

“So I started them, then in the last 30 minutes we needed more pressure on the wings so I brought on Marcelo and Carvajal.

“The wrong line-up? No one thinks about what players line up more than me.”

Ancelotti added that he was happy with the result and believes it leaves Madrid well-placed for the rest of the season.

“We’ve drawn a game we were losing. We can be happy with that.

“Atletico are a great team, especially at home.

“Now we are leading the table and we’ve got seven more home games and five away, so we must consider this as well.”