Carlo Ancelotti admits to 'small advantage' ahead of facing Manchester City
Real Madrid manager responds to Pep Guardiola's reservations about Man City's hectic schedule..
With Real Madrid and Manchester City both preparing to square off in the Champions League quarterfinals next week, Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti has acknowledged that his team has a small advantage.
Los Blancos have now been given the opportunity to prepare for the encounter, and Pep Guardiola's team will play twice between their first leg in Madrid.
Guardiola is not pleased with his team's hectic schedule, pointing out that Real Madrid have nine days while City have just three to get ready for the first leg.
Ancelotti further stated that Guardiola's remarks "will not affect the game" in response to a question following Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, their final match before facing Man City next Tuesday.
The Italian manager said: "This is football, I'm happy with nine days to prepare City game. We have a small advantage yes...".
"But this won't influence the game. We have time to prepare the game and we'll do our best".
In the meantime, City will play Aston Villa on Wednesday and Crystal Palace on Saturday before going to Spain to play Real Madrid on Tuesday of the following week.
Three days before the second leg, City are scheduled to play Luton, and three days after that, they will play Chelsea at Wembley.
Ancelotti's reply demonstrates a cool-headed and methodical approach to getting ready for one of the most important games of the season.
The Los Blancos manager continues to place more emphasis on the caliber of preparation than the number of days, even though he acknowledges the additional preparation time as a "small advantage."
Xabi Alonso is highly regarded by president Florentino Perez and Alonso's decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen after rejecting Liverpool and Bayern Munich may prove that he has one eye on the Real Madrid job. However, nothing is certain at the moment.
The Spanish giants are currently monitoring Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.