Italian facing injury headache ahead of Champions League quarter-final
Tuesday 21 April 2015 15:37, UK
Carlo Ancelotti insists Real Madrid have the best squad in the world as he battles a host of injuries ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid.
The Real boss will be without Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Karin Benzema through injury, while a suspension to Marcelo has only added to his woes.
However, Ancelotti is confident he has players who can fill the void, with fan-favourite Isco the man tipped to partner Toni Kross in midfield.
"We have to remember that Modric suffered a very serious injury playing for Croatia at the beginning of November and with Isco playing in his position we won every game until December 22," said Ancelotti.
"I said many times I have the best squad in the world, so I am not thinking about who is not going to play but those that will.
"For this reason I have a lot of confidence in my players."
Real dominated the first leg at Atletico, but were left frustrated by a standout performance from goalkeeperJan Oblak. However, Ancelotti believes a repeat display will be enough to finally overcome Atletico's well-organised defence.
"My only concern is to pick a team that plays with the same quality as in the first leg,” he added.
"We need to be capable of repeating what we did in the first 45 minutes.
"We haven't beaten them yet because Atletico are a very strong team with a very solid defence. We need to be very concentrated, but we have no rush to score, we just need to play well from the first minute to the last."
