Ancelotti wary of Haaland and De Bruyne

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is worried about the explosive ability of the duo Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, ahead of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.

"I'm very worried when I think about Haaland and De Bruyne," Ancelotti said on May 16 at a pre-match press conference. "But you have to forget about that and think positively. When we evaluate and analyze the opponent, we don't evaluate just one player but the whole team."

Haaland (right) runs to celebrate after De Bruyne equalizes for Man City in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu on May 9. Photo: AFP — Haaland (right) runs to celebrate after De Bruyne equalizes for Man City in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu on May 9. Photo: *AFP*

According to the Italian coach, Real must defend firmly as a team, and cannot just try to stop Haaland and forget about the other dangerous strikers of Man City such as De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Riyad Mahrez or Bernardo Silva. Ancelotti commented that today's rematch will be different from the first leg and wants his players to read the situation and play better.

At the Bernabeu a week ago, Haaland was lackluster despite high expectations. During the 90 minutes, the Norwegian striker only touched the ball 21 times, less than Ederson (29), missed the target twice, successfully dribbled once and lost the ball five times. Therefore, he was given 3 points by Spanish newspaper Marca - the lowest score of the match.

"In the first leg, Real played very well from the back and Man City found it difficult to win the ball back," Ancelotti added about Real's tactics. "That will be an important factor tomorrow. More possession means less risk in defence."

Ancelotti denied that he would start Antonio Rudiger, saying that the German player is capable of playing like Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao or David Alaba. The 63-year-old coach admitted that he had a headache with the arrangement of the attack, when pushing Federico Valverde to the right wing helped Real beat Liverpool in the Champions League final last season, while the trio of strikers Vinicius, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo helped the royal team score many goals and reach the semi-finals this season.

In the first leg, Man City dominated in the first half but Real took the lead thanks to Vinicius's cannonball. In the second half, Real played better but conceded a goal from De Bruyne's masterpiece. When asked about the small details that would decide the match, Ancelotti said: "The two teams are equal on an individual level, but determination and courage make the difference in a match like this, where you have to know how to hold on and fight."

Ancelotti explained that Real do not practice penalty kicks because the atmosphere on the pitch and the players' spirit and mentality are very different in a specific match. He wants the team to solve today's big match against Etihad in regular time.

Hong Duy

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