Ancelotti Demands Intensity from Real Madrid for Crucial Second Leg against Bayern Munich

In order to preserve their chances of winning both the La Liga and the European Cup, Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti has asked his team to play with greater speed and energy on Wednesday when they play Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal.

Even though Real Madrid won the La Liga championship this past weekend with four games remaining, Ancelotti was nonetheless very critical of his team's performance in their 2-2 tie in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal in Germany.

He has issued a warning to his team that if they hope to compete in the June 1 final at Wembley Stadium, they cannot afford to put on another below-average performance.

"We require a match that is fast and intense... Despite Bayern's dismal home campaign, Ancelotti stated during a news conference on Tuesday that his team cannot afford to undervalue the task offered by the German team. "Looking at the first leg, defensively we could have done a lot more," Ancelotti said.

Bayern's 11-year Bundesliga dominance came to an end last month when Bayer Leverkusen won the league title, but Ancelotti stated that the six-time European Cup champions will be even more motivated to win the one prize they have left to compete for this season.

"Bayern and Real are comparable teams due to their extensive track records and achievements. Given that they outperformed us in the first game, we must respect our opponents, Ancelotti stated.
"There is no optimism, but we are quite excited because this may be another amazing night for us. We are conscious of the challenges we will encounter.

Because Real Madrid has gone undefeated in the competition this season, defender Dani Carvajal—one of the team's most seasoned players and a five-time Champions League champion with the Spanish powerhouse—admited that the team feels the supporters are still optimistic about their chances of making it to the championship.

Though he made fun of Ancelotti for "becoming more and more scared" over the years, he acknowledged the coach's contribution to the team's concentration on capturing a record-breaking 15th championship in Europe's top club competition.

Days after Real Madrid won a record-tying 36th La Liga title, Carvajal said at a press conference, "There is euphoria because we are having a great year."

"We are all giddy with anticipation for the European Cup. The dressing room is where we find out. The fans congratulate us on the street and give us a lot of motivation to hope for victory once more.

We need to win two more games to win the Champions League. We've added up, and Ancelotti has kept our eyes peeled. That is what matters in order to accomplish the goals.

Andriy Lunin is the goalie, as Ancelotti is not taking any chances in the goal despite Thibaut Courtois' return from injury last weekend.

Even though Courtois had a confident performance in Saturday's 3-0 victory against Cadiz, which allowed Madrid to secure the Spanish league title, Ancelotti stated he will keep to the plan of playing Lunin at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Two days before the season began, in August, Courtois suffered an ACL damage in his left knee. Despite this, he performed admirably in his first game back. In March, just as he was about to return, he also tore the meniscus in his right knee.

Ancelotti declared, "Lunin will play tomorrow, Wednesday." "Courtois needs to recover to his peak performance gradually. After a great training session, he faced Cadiz and played a great game, displaying security and confidence, but he still needs to return to his best.

Since taking Courtois' place, Lunin has shown promise. The other backup goalkeeper for Madrid, Kepa Arrizabalaga, is a former Chelsea player who lost out to the Ukrainian for the starting spot.

However, Lunin recently committed a couple of errors in the Clasico versus Barcelona, which sparked criticism and rekindled the debate about who ought to start.

Madrid is attempting to make it to their 18th European Cup final and their ninth in the Champions League era as they look to win a record-tying 15th European championship.

Six-time European Cup winners Bayern are playing in their first semi-final since taking home the Champions League trophy in 2019–20.

Madrid has won twenty-four of their previous twenty-four European knockout matches in which they have drawn the first leg away from home; the only loss occurred against Spartak Moscow in the quarterfinal of the European Cup in 1990–91.

Bayern, on the other hand, have not defeated Madrid on the road in seven meetings (two wins, one loss), dating back to a 1-0 triumph in the 2000–01 Champions League semifinals.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.