Carlo Ancelotti says Mario Balotelli did nothing wrong when he swapped shirts with Pepe at half- time during Real Madrids Champions League destruction of Liverpool on Wednesday. A sublime Cristiano Ronaldo goal and a brace from Karim Benzema all but ended the Anfield contest before the break, and Balotelli has come under fire for his shirt exchange - with Brendan Rodgers suggesting the Italian will be dealt with. But Real manager Ancelotti has defended Balotelli. He said: It is normal to swap jerseys in football. Sometimes it happens at half-time. I do not see the problem. Asked if he had liked the performance of any Liverpool player, Ancelotti picked out Raheem Sterling and Balotelli himself, even though the latter had been substituted at half-time. I like the role of Sterling coming from deep, and the role that Balotelli played, Ancelotti said. After we scored three goals they lost a bit of their spirit and motivation to go for the win. Ancelotti saved special praise for his own team, saying they had shown personality and confidence to manage Liverpools early pressure and then use their quality to win out. I am very satisfied to play with such personality and quality in a difficult place like this, Ancelotti said. The team has a lot of maturity, a lot of confidence in this moment. We defended well in the opening minutes, and controlled early intensity from Liverpool. Then we had our incredible quality up front from Cristiano and the others. Ronaldo was withdrawn with about 15 minutes to play, and was then seen on the bench with an ice- pack on the left knee which caused him such issues earlier in 2014. Ancelotti admitted the move had been precautionary, while making a joking reference to Barcelona coach Luis Enriques recent issues persuading his superstar Lionel Messi to take a rest. In the end we had a lot of counter-attacks, [Ronaldo] was sprinting a lot, he said. So to avoid a problem we thought to take him off, so he would be fresh for Saturday. He is happy and we are all happy with him. The best way to take him off is not to ask first. Real have now won their last eight games in all competitions, scoring 35 goals and conceding five. However they are still four points behind current La Liga leaders Barcelona, who go to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu top of the table having not conceded a goal all season so far. Ancelotti said he was really looking forward to Saturdays game, and just happy he had already secured his ticket. Both teams are in very good form at this moment, he said. It will be a great spectacle. I have the luck not to have to pay to watch it. With Gareth Bale missing due to a lower-back muscle injury which also rules him out of Saturdays game, Isco had again taken an opportunity to show he deserved a place in the team, Ancelotti agreed. I have always had confidence in Isco, now with Bale out he has more opportunities, he said. He is doing very well, has great quality. But it was not just him, the whole team sacrificed themselves, worked hard, including the forwards. - #jay
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 00:08:42 +0000
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