Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti provided an update on Vinicius Jr’s injury, saying that he should be back for the game against Atalanta next week. He said: “Seeing Vinicius is good news, he has recovered very well. He won’t be ready for tomorrow, but he will be ready for the Champions League. Alaba has helped us a lot in training, but he needs another month. He will be back in January. The deadline for him is next year.”
Ancelotti on the Girona match
“It’s complicated. Girona is doing well. They are in the Champions League, but they compete very well. We have to take it as an opportunity.”
Ancelotti on optimism
“We have to be optimistic, considering the problems we have had. We have a valuable, quality squad. We have not played our best, but we will. Sooner or later. My level of concern is medium.”
Ancelotti on dealing with pressure
“It’s true that Liverpool and Athletic are very brave teams. To solve this, we have to play more directly. Look for the second ball, when they fall. That’s the easiest way. Long ball and fight for the second ball. That’s what we can do in the future, not forcing the ball out from the back too much. We’ve played Champions League finals using this system. I learned this very well in England. The long ball is another part of football. Because if you don’t have tall forwards, the second ball, when it falls, is also important. The centre-backs can win the first ball, but what’s important is when the ball falls.”
Ancelotti on whether there is a lack of leadership in the dressing room
“We talked about it at the beginning of the season. The youngsters had to take on more responsibility and from one day to the next they are doing it. Little by little. It is not something immediate, it is built day by day. In addition, Carvajal’s injury has affected us a lot. Alaba, who usually takes on this responsibility, is also not available. And this has brought forward the process of the youngsters.”
Ancelotti on Kylian Mbappe’s penalties
“The issue of penalties, for the moment, depends on motivation. He has to endure the moment. Because the moment, sooner or later, will end. What gives me a good feeling is that in terms of intensity he has improved.”
Ancelotti on Mbappe’s form
“I think it is a question of continuity and it will come when he and his teammates adapt to his characteristics, which are peculiar and special. It will come little by little. He is aware of it and will work to get ahead.
“We have to evaluate everything. Explain to him what he needs to do to improve on the pitch. I think that in terms of playing intensity he has improved a lot. Against Getafe he did 600 metres at maximum intensity and against Athletic 500. It is a good level. We have to support him, but that does not mean that he should play every game.
“He is aware of this, because the post he made after the match is from a player who is aware of what he can and will do. We are with him. He is not bringing out his best version. There are many who do not bring it out and are not aware of it. He is. And he is doing everything possible to do it as soon as possible.”
Ancelotti on ‘the problem’
“It is difficult to find the real problem in a simple way. The truth is that the fact is that we have not been able to bring out our best version so far. But I have a very good relationship with my group, with the team, with my players. We have the same thought: to bring out our best version as soon as possible.”
Ancelotti on criticism
“When I say that criticism is acceptable, I am right in some ways. If you ask me, ‘what criticism bothers you the most?’ Some of them do, they bother me. They affect me. And when the criticism affects your identity, it bothers you even more. If someone says that I made a bad change, it doesn’t affect you, it’s at a professional level. But it affects your identity when it touches on who you are. It’s like calling someone stupid or telling them that they did something stupid. It’s not the same thing.
“I think it’s a criticism I have to accept. The team is not playing its best and, as always happens in football, the coach is the most responsible. Having said that, I think you’re giving me too much criticism. Maybe you’re tired of me. I’m not tired. Criticism is acceptable and I understand it. Sometimes it’s fuel.”
Ancelotti on the Club World Cup draw
“It was a very nice presentation, with Del Piero, who is a friend, as host. It will be a very entertaining competition for the fans, but we still have time to think about it and assimilate it.”