CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Ancelotti says Modric will start against City
The Croat’s injury had the club and the fans worried, but Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the midfielder will play from the start.
Despite not having chances of winning the LaLiga title, Real Madrid are heading to their most important game of the season so far with a certain amount of confidence.
After winning their 20th Copa del Rey title by defeating Osasuna in a hard-fought game, Los Blancos received another confidence dose one day away from their Champions League’s semifinals first-leg clash against Manchester City.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke about Tuesday’s game at Santiago Bernabéu at the pre-match presser and confirmed that one of their key players, midfielder Luka Modric, has recovered from his injury and will feature against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“Modric has no problems and when he is well, he can play, so tomorrow he will play”, the Italian boss said.
Asked about whether the Croat will be in the starting XI or not, Carletto didn’t hesitate:
“Yes, I am clear about who is going to play. Modric and others”.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner missed games against Almeria and Real Sociedad, after suffering a muscle injury against Girona two weeks ago, but played the last minutes of Saturday’s Copa del Rey final replacing Toni Kroos.
Real’s winning experience vs. City’s ‘fear factor’
Both teams have, without a doubt, two of the best squads in the world and that’s why this tie is so unpredictable.
Manchester City, however, have been the better team overall this season. They will play the FA Cup final in June against city neighbors Manchester United and are in a very good position to win the Premier League.
However, Real Madrid is the clear superior side of the two when it comes to experience and big games.
Probably the best example was Real’s last Champions League campaign, where the Spanish giants managed to defeat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool when Ancelotti’s men were considered the underdogs against PSG and City.
Besides that, in recent years Madrid won three consecutive Champions League trophies and a total of four in five editions, which proves they become stronger when most needed on the biggest stage.
City, meanwhile, have been eliminated three times in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, two in the semifinals, and were defeated in the only UCL final they played, in 2021.
City, who saw Real Madrid record an impressive comeback at the Bernabéu in their second-leg game (3-1) to get to the final, will hope this time fate will smile at them, especially now that they have the best killer in Europe in Erling Haaland.