Saying that the defending European champions only have a minor edge, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti discounted Pep Guardiola’s assertion that Manchester City has a “one percent” chance of defeating the Spanish club on Wednesday.
Real returned to win 3-2 late on versus City at the Etihad last week in the first leg of their Champions League playoff, but Ancelotti advised his team not to get ahead of itself as they aim to land a last 16 spot before their own supporters.
Statement!
” Honestly, not even (Guardiola) believes what he said, but I’m going to ask him about it before the game anyway,” the Italian remarked at a Tuesday press conference.
“Neither do we think we are 99 percent favorites nor do they have a one percent chance of advancing. Our modest advantage comes from our actions at Manchester; we must make good use of it.
“Learning to play with the advantage is a psychological problem with challenging psychological solutions. Although it’s ridiculous and nobody would believe me, I could come here and announce that we have no advantage and play as though we were 0-0.
“You can influence the team’s attitude to guarantee that we conduct the same game as last week since it went so well for us. You do not overlook, though, your advantage.”
Carlo Ancelotti stated the Champions League had less contentious calls after Real Madrid sent a letter of complaint against LaLiga’s officials following what they thought to be several unfair rulings, however he still had concerns about VAR.
“I do (feel calmer), the numbers tell for themselves. Less debate and less interference by the VAR (in the Champions League), which only steps in when absolutely required,” Ancelotti remarked.
“Only the top officials from every nation are assigned in the Champions League, so the quality in this regard is really high.
“I have questions (about the VAR) since I believe the VAR has absolved too much responsibility from the referee. That system is somewhat hazardous.
“The VAR has been implemented not for football-related interventions but rather to prevent clear, evident errors. Often the goal is to eliminate all football’s naturalness in order to project a desired image.
