Ancelotti wants to meet Milan in the final
As a player, Ancelotti won two Serie A and two C1 Cups with Milan. As a coach, he helped Milan win one more Serie A and two Champions Leagues. Asked if he wanted to meet Milan in the quarter-finals this season, Ancelotti replied: "I would like to see them in the final, not the quarter-finals."
Eight teams participate in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season: Real, Milan, Inter, Napoli, Bayern, Benfica, Man City and Chelsea. The draw for the pairing will take place on March 17.
According to Ancelotti, reaching the quarterfinals, all possibilities can come true. "There are three Italian teams present at the moment, which few people think about at the beginning of the season. Therefore, the Champions League is very difficult, requires you to compete and fight to the end, but you can't be subjective soon." Coach Real added.
In the second leg of the 1/8 round on March 15, Real defeated Liverpool 1-0. Ancelotti's teachers and students continued with the final score of 6-2. Liverpool played better than the first leg, but Real was still brave enough to win. "We had good control," said Ancelotti. "We try to handle the ball and don't defend low. We create chances, but also play hard in the back. That's the way we want to play."
Real beat Liverpool with Karim Benzema's goal in the 78th minute. The assist for Benzema was winger Vinicius. Ancelotti praised Vinicius for his assist, decisive role and ability to pose danger whenever he had the ball. Even, in his personal opinion, the 22-year-old winger is the best player in the world today.
Ancelotti also believes that having to attack in the second leg has cost Liverpool. Before such an opponent, the Real midfield always knows how to respond with the ability to hold the ball and counterattack. "Modric and Kroos handle this kind of game very well," said Ancelotti. "They deploy the ball from the back very effectively."
When asked about the conversation with Jurgen Klopp before the game, Ancelotti admitted to talking about the penalty that Man City was awarded in the 22nd minute in the match against Leipzig on March 14. Before that, the referee caught a foul on the hand of Benjamin Henrichs. After Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Man City added six more goals to win 7-0.
"I told Klopp that penalty was crazy," said Ancelotti. "Be careful with situations like that. Football is not football when such a penalty is blown in the Champions League. Even Pep Guardiola didn't realize his team was awarded a penalty."
