Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti insists his team will refuse to play future La Liga matches unless his players are given a minimum 72 hours’ rest between fixtures. The Italian boss is fuming that his players were forced to play Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday (6:30pm local time), despite facing Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday (9pm local time).
Ancelotti’s men played 120 minutes against Atletico, plus a penalty shootout, as they secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals following a controversial victory at the home of their neighbours. Real Madrid won the shootout after Atletico forward Julian Alvarez had a penalty disallowed for an alleged double touch of the ball.
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Los Blancos were back in action on Saturday and secured a narrow 2-1 victory away at Villarreal thanks to a first-half brace from Ballon d’Or contender Kylian Mbappe. Juan Foyth opened the scoring for the Yellow Submarine in the seventh minute, but Mbappe turned the game on its head with a six-minute brace midway through the first half.
The result means Real Madrid open up a three-point gap between themselves and second-placed Barcelona at the top of La Liga. However, Barca have two games in hand over the reigning European champions and will join their fierce rivals on 60 points if they defeat Atletico on Sunday evening.
La Liga Standings (March 16)
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Ancelotti Says Real Madrid Will Refuse to Play Matches
Real Madrid want minimum 72 hours' rest between games
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti
Ancelotti complained about the congested calendar on Friday, blaming “television rights and money”, while adding "the last thing on anyone's mind is the players' recovery.” Real Madrid’s TV channel, meanwhile, stated ahead of the game against Villarreal: "Real Madrid will ask for FIFA's support ... so that this never happens again."
Per ESPN, Ancelotti confirmed the club’s stance to reporters following Saturday’s game at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica. The revered Italian coach, who is currently ranked as the world’s second-best manager, said:
"I think today is the last time that we'll play a game before 72 hours. We won't do it again, without 72 hours of rest. We asked La Liga to change the time of the game twice, and they didn't do anything. But this is the last time."
Asked if his time will show up to a future game if scheduled without 72 hours rest, Ancelotti responded: “No, of course not.” On the victory over Villarreal, he added: "I'm very proud of the players, it was a tricky game. And the opponent plays very well. We hung on, above all in the second half. The team was exhausted but that's normal. It's a victory that says a lot about this team and the resources in this squad."
FIFA recommend a minimum of 72 hours’ rest between fixtures, in order to protect players’ health. However, there’s no law in place for leagues to stick to this guidance, with competition organisers ultimately responsible for timings. La Liga are responsible for determining kick-off times for league fixtures in Spain’s top tier but now find themselves under increased pressure from Real Madrid to ensure they give teams sufficient rest between matches in future.