Ancelotti: "Knowledge and experience mean you're not afraid to play these games"

Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the Etihad Stadium press room and discussed the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal (Tuesday, 9 pm CEST): “It will be about courage and personality. It means trying to do our best and staying motivated. An important aspect is to perform well in the match we've prepared for. It's very difficult to always be 100%. It's impossible. We've had a lot of injuries and that has made the rotations more difficult, which are more necessary than usual at the moment. We rested Asencio because he was exhausted after the match against Real Sociedad.”

“I'm just thinking about preparing well for the match and we think we've prepared well. We're up against a team that does a lot of things well and they're a complete team: they're good at pressing up front, the low block and transitions. We have a clear approach and we'll try to execute it tomorrow. The team is in good physical condition and we can play with intensity tomorrow.”

Is experience important in these ties?
“Experience in this tournament is very important. Knowledge and experience mean you're not afraid to play these games with so much pressure. It's a very important tournament. It's very important to have players who have participated in many games of this kind because it helps the youngsters and gives them more confidence.”

Too much criticism?
“We can't think about criticism when we have a match every three days. We've analysed and evaluated the match against Valencia. Now, we have to prepare well for this game, which is 90 important minutes. They won't be decisive because there are another 90 minutes at the Bernabéu.”

Set-pieces
“Arsenal are very dangerous from set-pieces and we will try to defend as best we can. We can also do damage from set-pieces. It's a very important aspect of the game.”

Vini Jr.
“I haven't spoken to him and I don't need to. I know full well that maybe he could've played better against Valencia, but when he thinks he hasn't played well the next game he plays very well and I'm convinced he's going to play well tomorrow.”
Who will take a possible penalty?
“We've thought about it and we'll try to handle that tomorrow.”

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Valverde’s position
“He does a lot of things well, including at full-back and in the centre. We'll think about where he's going to contribute most to the team.”

The fight for the treble
“We have all the resources to try to do our best and try to fight for the trophies until the end. You have to try and if it goes well you win and if it doesn't you think about next season.”

Have people got tired of Ancelotti?
“I don't know. Maybe people are tired, but the important thing is that the most important person isn't. He's happy with me, he helps me and supports me. What might change the dynamic is that the most important person at this club doesn't get tired of it.”

Praise for Arteta
“I appreciate what he said about me. He came here when I left for Everton in 2020 and in five years he's taken this team to the top of Europe. He's doing very well and he's built a complete team. There are not many complete teams in Europe. There are some that do some things very well, but there are not many complete teams like Arsenal. He's doing a fantastic job. They are stronger with him than in the past.”

Players on bookings
“I'm not going to change anything. We know that if they can't play in Madrid we have substitutes. Tchouameni is suspended for tomorrow.”

Odegaard
“He is as talented now as he was when he was 16 years old. Nothing has changed in this respect. He had the personality and the courage to go out and find the experience to come back and become one of the best in Europe. He was very young and didn't have the opportunity to play in the first team. There was no space for him to show his quality. He decided to go elsewhere and get playing time somewhere else. It was a good decision. He's at one of the best clubs in Europe.”