Carlo Ancelotti insists his side needs to be disciplined against an in-form Barcelona side in the El clasico game tomorrow.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted the high demand of the El classico game and insists his side will have to be disciplined.
Ancelotti side will welcome Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday as they seek to extend their lead on the league table.
Speaking ahead of the home game against the in-form Xavi Barcelona Ancelotti says his side will be at their best in the game.
“It’s all about commitment, discipline and quality. It’s a very demanding game. It’s El Clásico, a special game and we’ll have to be at our best. The team’s in good shape, we’ve worked hard and are feeling confident about tomorrow”.
“It’s a game where we want to be at our best. We’re going to have to produce a strong all-round performance because we’re up against a very strong side. We can’t go thinking that doing just one thing well will be enough to win the game. We’ll have to defend well, press well, be good on the ball, play out well from the back and be direct… it’ll need to be an all-round performance”.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has done and incredible job with the Camp Nou side and also maintain their style of play.
Ancelotti believes that the team have improve drastically under their new manager admits to their good football.
“There’s no change to the team’s identity because that never changes. Barcelona have a very clearly defined playing style and Xavi embodies that style very strongly. The team has improved greatly and is currently on a very good run. They’re a strong all-round side that play some very good football and I personally believe that they’re performing very well”.
Ancelotti has also ruled out star striker Karim Benzema out of the clash as he confirms the French man is in discomfort and was not able to train with his team mate.
“Benzema and Mendy won’t be involved tomorrow and they’ll stay here with us. They’ll start working with us next week. We’ve never taken any risks, and that applies to the PSG game. Benzema won’t play tomorrow becuase he hasn’t trained yet, he’s feeling a bit of discomfort, it’s a small one, but it’s preventing him from training and, obviously playing”.