Ancelotti talks Vinicius, Rudiger, Rodrygo, Modric, Alaba, Barcelona ahead of Girona vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

Matchday eight of the 2023/24 La Liga campaign brings the battle of the top two as second-placed Real Madrid lock horns with league leaders Girona at Estadi Montilivi on Saturday.

Real Madrid bounced back from their derby debacle with a 2-0 win over Las Palmas earlier this week.

And with an important UEFA Champions League coming up next week, they will be eager to continue building momentum with another victory.

But Girona, who have been the surprise package in La Liga this season, will pose a challenge for the Merengues.

Ahead of the game, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media and provided an update on the fitness situation of certain players.

Starting off, the Italian tactician confirmed that Antonio Rudiger will be available for the trip to Girona after he picked up a knock in the midweek clash.

“We’re fine, we’re going to play an important game against the leaders and we’ll try to do our best. We have Rüdiger back, the team is tired but with a lot of enthusiasm and we’re going to do well,” Ancelotti said.

Amidst the bribery allegations directed at Barcelona in the Negreira case, Ancelotti insisted that it was important for justice to take its course, saying:

“I am concerned about this very serious matter, like all football. We have to let justice work, let it take its course.”

“I hope that justice does its job with the Negreira case, I’ve been doing this for 40 years and when something like this happens it’s worrying for everyone,” he later added.

Coming up against a tricky opponent like Girona, Ancelotti shed light on what his team need to do to win the match, saying:

“We have to play a complete game, we have to have balance, defend well and show the quality we have on the ball to cause damage.”

“Girona play very well but it won’t be like last year. We have a lot of chances to win the game,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti also gave his two cents on the criticism directed towards Real Madrid by Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin, who lashed out at the Merengues claiming they pressurise referees.

“Gil Marín is wrong but I’m not going to continue with a subject that makes no sense to me,” Ancelotti stated.

During the press conference, Ancelotti also confirmed that star man Vinicius Jr will start against Girona, as he said:

“Vinicius is fine and will play from the start and let’s see how long he can last. I think he can play 90 minutes, it depends on what I ask of him. He is fully recovered. The system won’t change but we will introduce small changes to be more solid.”

Ancelotti and Vinicius appeared to have a heated exchange towards the end of the game against Las Palmas. Shedding light on the incident between them, the manager revealed:

“I told Vini to control himself a bit because he made two very intense runs.”

On the topic of Vinicius’ compatriot Rodrygo and his lack of goals this season, Ancelotti commented: “The problem is that he hasn’t scored the goals I expected of him, but he has worked very well. He’s had a lot of wear and tear and a bit of rest can help him.”

Meanwhile, Luka Modric has been in and out of the team this season and when asked if the Croatian will start against Girona, Ancelotti was not entirely forthcoming, as he replied:

“I’m not going to give the line-up, I’m not going to answer if Modric will start tomorrow.”

When the two teams step onto the pitch tomorrow, Savinho will be Girona’s chief threat against Real Madrid.

“Savinho is doing well, he has a lot of quality and I congratulate him. We have the resources, experience, and quality to stop any player,” Ancelotti said of the young Brazilian.

Meanwhile, there was more good news on the fitness front as Ancelotti confirmed that David Alaba’s injury is not serious and he could be back as early as next Tuesday.

“Alaba has a complaint and could be fit on Tuesday,” Ancelotti confirmed.

Talking about the roles of the full-backs in his new system which tends to be quite narrow in the attacking third, Ancelotti said:

“We’ve asked the full-backs to play further forward, to give width and depth, especially when we don’t have the best wide player in the world, who is Vinicius. The full-backs sometimes suffer more than normal.”

Signing off, Ancelotti gave credit to Girona for the way they have started the new season, as he said:

“We have to believe in the table. Girona have done better than everyone and we have to respect them. They are not playing in Europe and that is an advantage for them.

“What affects teams the most are the international competitions. There are injuries, fatigue, there’s no time to recover.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo