Ancelotti: "Manchester City Doesn't Keep Me Up at Night"
The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, denied that Manchester City keeps him awake at night and said that, considering the team's negative streak at the Etihad Stadium, statistics "are meant to be broken."
Real Madrid has never won at the Etihad, and City hasn't lost at home in the Champions League since September 2018.
"We shouldn't dwell on what has happened; we should only focus on tomorrow. Compete, fight, and have confidence; that's what we're trying to do. The result has been evened out, and now there are another ninety minutes; anything can happen. We're confident that we have the quality to cause problems," Ancelotti said in a press conference.
"Nothing keeps me up at night. Only if I eat too much, I might not sleep well. I have confidence in the team, in what we've achieved this season. We're in good shape now; nothing keeps me up at night."
"Statistics are made to be broken; there are many cases where Madrid hadn't won, and then they did. Statistics are good for the fans, but I believe they're meant to be broken. Over the last three years, we've faced each other, and there have always been spectacular matches, and I expect the same tomorrow," the Italian coach added.
Regarding Jude Bellingham, who praised him in the previous press conference, saying that thanks to him, he's having the season he's had, Ancelotti said he only asks players to "work for the team."
"This means commitment and attitude. What Bellingham did in the first half, no one expected. Now, he should keep working for the team. The work of the forward players is noticeable because we're the team with the fewest goals conceded in the league."
"Bellingham is very good; he's a modern midfielder, can cover a lot of ground. For the future of Real Madrid, he's one of the most important players because he's only 20 years old. Sometimes we forget that. He's a great professional and a fantastic player for us."
Despite Erling Haaland's subdued performance in Madrid, Ancelotti still sees the Norwegian forward, who scored 52 goals last season, as one of the biggest threats in this team.
"When it comes to individualities, Haaland remains one of City's biggest dangers. The fact that he didn't feature much in the match is also credit to our defense. Haaland is always a very dangerous player."
