Real Madrid finally picked up a victory on their pre-season tour of the USA as they beat Chelsea 2-1 last night in Charlotte.
First-half goals from Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz sealed the deal for the reigning Spanish and European champions even though Noni Madueke pulled one back for Chelsea before half-time.
Having lost their first two friendlies against AC Milan and Barcelona, Real Madrid ended their US tour on a positive note and manager Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with the win heading into the UEFA Super Cup clash against Atalanta next week.
“We’re happy to have everyone back and we are starting to prepare for the Super Cup. The work has been good. The youngsters have done well, competing and it has been a good experience for them. Now we want to think about the Super Cup,” he said.
On the Chelsea clash
Giving his take on the match against his former club Chelsea, Ancelotti said: “It was a game with a good tempo, with a clear idea up front and the attacking aspect was good.
“We were vertical with Vini and Rodrygo and it was a good preseason game. The feeling is that those who started working on 15 July are doing quite well.”
“The game was intense, fast and with a lot of changes up front because Chelsea have very quick players. It was a game with a lot of transitions and it was good for us to play it,” the Real Madrid manager further added.
On the squad
Ancelotti opted to leave out both Endrick and Arda Guler from the game against Chelsea, not calling on the teenage duo from the bench either. Explaining his decision, the manager said:
“They had difficulties recovering after the game against Barcelona. We preferred to avoid taking any risks because we wanted everyone to arrive safely for the Super Cup final. This morning they worked individually.”
The Real Madrid squad is stocked with quality players across all positions, increasing competition for places in the team, which the manager believes is a positive thing.
“The squad is very competitive and the competition helps us to be focused, professional and serious. The competitiveness of the squad is a positive aspect,” remarked Ancelotti.
Discussing the performances of Eder Militao, who had not looked quite at his best towards the end of the last season after the ACL injury, the Italian tactician said:
“I’ve seen him very well. He has played with a lot of quality, cutting out quite dangerous situations. Those who are here are very good, like Ceballos, Modric, Lucas Vazquez, Fran, Rudiger and the two goalkeepers.”
Ancelotti also praised his captain Luka Modric, who did well operating as the defensive pivot midfielder in the friendlies on the tour in the absence of Aurelien Tchouameni.
“Today he was a central pivot, but also a pivot on the left like Kroos. He has a lot of quality on the ball and helps the team a lot because he manages the tempo and has experience,” exclaimed the Real Madrid boss.
On whether Modric’s performances as a pivot would make him use Tchouameni in defence more regularly, Ancelotti replied:
“The centre-backs are Rudiger and Militao and, as long as they are well, they will play. Tchouameni has different characteristics to Modric, but he is a great pivot.”
Finally, explaining the decision to replace Thibaut Courtois with Andriy Lunin at half-time, Ancelotti remarked that it was purely done to give the latter some minutes and there were no fitness concerns with the former.
“Courtois is fine, but we wanted to give minutes to Lunin. It was in the plan,” he professed.
Source: RealMadrid.com