Real Madrid News
Arne Slot: “Real Madrid, apart from my players, are the best”
Real Madrid suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League.
Despite the Reds taking the win through an Alexis Mac Allister header in the second half, Xabi Alonso’s side can take some positives from their performance.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted after the match that Real Madrid remain the benchmark for any top side, praising the Spanish giants for their quality and organisation.
“I’m very happy. It’s been a difficult few weeks for us. Lots of away games, hardly any rest.
“We only had two days to prepare, but Real Madrid had the same.
“It was important to play in front of our fans because Real Madrid, apart from my players, are the best,” Slot told Amazon Prime as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
How to beat Real Madrid
Real Madrid, despite missing key players in defence, did not really manage to threaten the Liverpool goal.
The combination of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. caused problems on the counter, but fine margins denied them the breakthrough. Slot himself acknowledged the danger they posed.
“Real Madrid have scored 26 goals in La Liga. Vinicius and Mbappe have 24 goal contributions between them, so if you want to have any chance against them, you have to make sure they don’t score,” he said.
In the context of the group stage, the defeat is unlikely to significantly harm Real Madrid’s qualification hopes.
Real Madrid remain fifth in the standings for now with nine points from four matches.
Although there will be certainly be a change in the table, given the line of matches scheduled later today, it can be assumed that this season, Real Madrid can finish within the top eight.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho reacts to Vinicius suspension: “Why announce it two hours before an important match?”
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has questioned the RFEF Disciplinary Committee’s decision to announce Vinicius Jr.’s four-match suspension just hours before their UEFA Champions League meeting with AS Roma on Wednesday.
The Brazilian has been hit with a four-match ban for his red card against Villarreal, meaning he will miss the matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander, and Valencia.
And, speaking to Movistar+ (h/t MARCA) before the match, the Real Madrid manager was asked whether the punishment could affect the Brazilian psychologically.
Mourinho instead turned his attention to the football authorities and the timing of their announcement.
“I think that is a question for the Committee. Why have they announced the suspension at this particular moment? If you are asking me this question, it is presumably because you think it could affect him,” the Portuguese coach replied.
“You should ask the Committee why they did not announce it this morning, or tomorrow morning. Why do they do it two hours before a match that is important for Real Madrid, which is a Spanish club?” he added, questioning the timing of the decision.
Mourinho explains his tactical approach against Roma
The Real Madrid manager also outlined his plan for facing a Roma side known for their aggressive pressing.
“My intention is to stop them from pressing us so high up the pitch, given the players we have available and as a precaution,” he said.
Continuing, the Portuguese manager added: “They press man-to-man higher up the pitch better than anyone else, and we will see whether we can take advantage of that. If not, they will have to drop their press five or ten metres.”
Why Rudiger over Huijsen
Mourinho also justified his decision to start Antonio Rudiger at centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate rather than Dean Huijsen.
“They played very well together in the last match, Rudiger and Konate, showing great leadership and the ability to withstand a difficult situation when we had ten men for 30 minutes,” he said.
“I am not saying Dean is not capable of playing a match like this, but this is a wonderful atmosphere for Roma and a difficult one for us. I think a player with Antonio’s experience can be important,” Mourinho added.
Finally, Mourinho was asked about his emotions ahead of returning to face Roma, the club he managed between 2021 and 2024.
The Portuguese coach offered a brief response, saying that he had his feelings about the occasion “blocked”.
