Carlo Ancelotti sank his finger into Xavi's wound when he indicated that FC Barcelona is not a direct rival for Real Madrid

December 18, 2021

Photo: SERGEI GAPON / AFP / Getty Images

For: EFE Updated 18 Dec 2021, 8: 27 am EST

The Italian Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach , assured that “ Barcelona is not now a direct rival ”for the LaLiga Santander title due to the 21 points of distance between both sets, but he warned that they have “quality to fight to the end.”

“ Now not directly, because it is further back than Sevilla, Atlético, Betis … but it has the quality to fight until the end and if it were Barcelona coach would say exactly the same ”, he said at a press conference referring to Xavi’s words in which he affirmed that they are still in position to fight for the title.

An Ancelotti who did not hesitate to criticize the repetition of the draw of Round of 16 of the Champions League last Lu nes, in which Real Madrid was paired in the first instance with Benfica and second, after being repeated by an error, against Paris Saint-Germain.

“ It was unfortunate the draw , but we will think later about this tie, which will be difficult and very exciting. Playing against one of the best teams in Europe will be demanding and exciting ”, He commented.

This week it was also known who will be his rival in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey (Alcoyano) and the schedule, set at 21: 30 hours on January 5, a circumstance that the technician also criticized.

“What can we say… seems a bit late to me. Not for the Spanish (laughs), but many Italians are sleeping in bed at that time. But what can we do? They have set us that schedule and we are going to play it ”, he declared .

Ancelotti also spoke of the physical condition of his players after not doing large rotations and having accumulated seven games in 21 days.

“First, we have worked well . Second, we’ve been a bit lucky. You can’t always talk about luck, but sometimes this helps you. The team has done well. Not starting so strong in the first parts has helped us in the second parts to have a good physical appearance. We continue to do things well, recovering well and assessing the fatigue of the players . So far it has gone well for us, hopefully we can continue like this in the second part of the season ”, he said.