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Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised FC Barcelona teenage prodigies Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi ahead of El Clasico between the two arch rivals.
“What they are doing at that age speaks very well of them. It’s important, as we’ve done, to mix youths and veterans well,” Ancelotti advised.
Madrid goes into the world’s biggest derby eight points clear of the Catalans with seven games to spare.
“We’re very close,” Ancelotti said about wresting the La Liga title back from Barca. “They’re a very competitive opponent. It’s going to be the same old Clasico.”
“The cake is ready, we need to put the icing on the cake this month,” he added later, as an April 30 meeting with Bayern Munich, for a Champions League semifinal first leg clash, can also be seen on the horizon.
That date was marked by beating Manchester City 4-3 on penalties in the Etihad earlier this week, with center back warrior Antonio Rudiger one of the many heroes of the evening for successfully converting the decisive kick.
“I’ve never seen him take a penalty. We rehearsed on Monday and he put in the three he took,” Ancelotti revealed.
Rudiger’s defensive partner on English soil was Nacho, with the two men keeping City to just a single goal in a 1-1 draw that meant a 4-4 aggregate score.
On Friday, the biggest news coming out of Madrid, and reported on by MARCA, is that the captain has told president Florentino Perez he has decided to leave the club and therefore won’t renew his contract which expires on June 30.
On this, Ancelotti said: “You just have to respect his decisions. You know what we think.”
“His future is up to him. He played a spectacular game, the top-level defender that he is.”
In an interview with El Chiringuito, Casemiro revealed that Ancelotti was tearful when the time came for him to leave the club and flee to Manchester United in 2022.
“He was a legend. When someone like that leaves, it’s emotional,” the usually ice cool Ancelotti confessed.
Sticking with the backline, Ancelotti remarked that Eder Militao “could start tomorrow” against Barca.
