Ancelotti: "The Cup has given us joy in the past and we're eager to go far"

Carlo Ancelotti appeared before the media in the press room at Real Madrid City and analysed the Copa del Rey quarter-final, in which the Whites will face Leganés at Butarque (Wednesday, 9:00pm CET): "It's a knockout tie and we'll have to prepare well to try to win it and get to the next step in the competition. Last year we went far and we're going to try to do well this year as well."

Club statement
"Something has happened that is inexplicable, especially in terms of the integrity of the players. What the communiqué from the Real Madrid board of directors asks for is an explanation. This seems to me to be correct, it has to be explained because nothing has been done to protect the integrity of the player."

"I'm going back to what I said, I don't want to repeat myself. It's something that has happened that plays with the integrity of a footballer and no measures have been taken. We're asking for an explanation and that's all."

No signings despite injuries
‘’Unfortunately, we have lost two important players in the last two days. It's something we obviously didn't foresee because Alaba was ready to start playing. He was going to play tomorrow because he was feeling good. Just as we didn't foresee the injury to Rüdiger. It's an emergency moment that we have to put up with. There are minor problems that delay Alaba's return to 15 or 20 days and Rüdiger's as well. We we'll hold out with the players we have. Jacobo, who has been injured for a long time, is coming back and he can also contribute."

What explanations does the club need?
"It's time to change something. If they don't give explanations it means there's a problem, and when there is a problem something has to change."

Valverde at centre-back
"Valverde is not going to play at centre-back. He might be a full-back in some of these games, but not a centre-back. Jacobo, Asencio and Tchouameni can play at centre-back."

Tchouameni's qualities as a central defender
"Defensively, he's very good in the air, he positions himself well because he has tactical savvy. He's not used to this position, but he has the tactical know-how because he was a defensive pivot. He may sometimes have problems, but I think he has always delivered. He may have flaws, but I don't remember a serious mistake for which we conceded a goal and he has played a lot, including last year."

Is Cristiano the best player ever?
"Cristiano has marked and is marking an era. For me, he's the best. Also because he helped me a lot with the goals he scored. He made me feel at ease on the Real Madrid bench."

Bellingham's availability
"Bellingham has a bruise from a blow in the last game and couldn't train. He won't be available tomorrow. We have given Vini Jr. an extra day to recover, but he'll be available for tomorrow."

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Mbappé's condition
"He started training today, yesterday we gave him an extra day of recovery. He has a bruise on his calf. He trained normally today, but tomorrow he won't be available for the game."

Manchester City signings
"I have to think about the game against City with the players who can play. They have signed players because they thought it was good to do so. I don't want to comment on that. City are always a competitive team, but it's a game we will think about. We have other things to think about at the moment rather than how to prepare for the game against City."

Which league has the best referees?
"It's difficult to say. A referee's job is very complicated. I can tell you that where they have less pressure is in England and that's why I think they perform better."

Would you make any changes to the season so far?
"What I have to think about is how to approach things with the emergencies we have. We had emergencies last year. What we have to do is manage the situation we have well because we're going to be missing two very important players. We managed it well last year. The young players have a chance to show their quality. We trust, as we trusted Asencio when he came on against Osasuna. We're going to trust Jacobo. He has a great opportunity and in times of difficulty we will put him on."

Have you felt that any of the referees have been impartial?
"We're talking about an incident that has happened for which we're asking for explanations that have not yet been given. If the explanations aren't given, it means there's a problem. And if there is a problem, someone has to fix it."

Leganés' danger from set-pieces
"We have trained for this because the lack of Rüdiger weighs on us in this respect because he is very good with his head. Leganés are not just good at set pieces, they are a well-organised team, they defend very well and they got good results against Barcelona and Atletico, defending very well and taking advantage of the counter-attack. We trained this morning on set-pieces in this respect."

Would there have been sanctions in Italy?
"Every country makes different decisions. It's an opportunity for Spanish football to change something after what happened against Espanyol."

With fairer refereeing would you have won more titles?
"All I'm saying is that I totally agree with the official statement."

Are Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico the ones who can complain the least?
"Here everybody complains and if everybody complains that means nobody is happy. It could be an opportunity to change something."