“What do I ask Mbappé? Let him score goals, not go press“. Here is what Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday on the eve of Borussia Dortmund’s reception in the Champions League. “What I ask him is not very different from what I asked Karim (Benzema) before: he is ready to go in quick transition when we get the ball“, explained the Real Madrid technician at a press conference in response to a question about his instructions for the French striker.
At the dawn of a busy week, with the receptions of Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday in C1 and the Clasico against its great rival FC Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti recognized that his team “was not yet 100%” et “had to continue working to gain solidity defensively“. “We haven’t conceded many goals so far but it’s true that the opponents have had chances… We have more difficulty in a possession match, because we have players who know how to take advantage of space. We need to focus on defending better, as we did very well last year… Offensively, the goals will come one way or another“, he said.
For this replay of the last Champions League final, the Madrid coach is wary of a “demanding opponent“, “who plays with great intensity” and currently occupies the top of the competition standings with two big victories in two matches against Bruges (3-0) and Celtic Glasgow (7-1). Asked about the new role of his English prodigy Jude Bellingham , further back on the pitch and less decisive than last season, Ancelotti said to himself “satisfied” of its performance.
The work Bellingham is doing for the team is more important than the goals scored last year
“He works a lot and always fights on the pitch, he sacrifices himself. It’s true that he hasn’t scored yet, but the surprise isn’t this year, it’s last year, where he scored a lot of goals while no one noticed. was waiting there“, he estimated.
“We have always scored and we will continue to do so because we have very talented players up front. For us, the work Bellingham does for the team is more important than the goals scored last year“, added the ex-PSG coach, ensuring he wanted to place the England international on the right side to rebalance his attack which leans a lot to the left with Mbappé and Vinicius Junior.
