Real meet Dortmund tomorrow on the back of victory at Celta Vigo on Saturday. Ancelotti spoke to the press today to preview the Champions League tie.
Playing system:
“I want this because I have players with these characteristics. A back-and-forth game suits us well. We have more difficulty in a possession game because we don’t have players with the characteristics of playing in small spaces. They can take advantage of the open field. We are focused on defending better, it is the key this season. The team is less solid in this sense and we are working on this.”
Jude Bellingham situation:
“We are satisfied with his work. He works hard on the pitch, he competes, he fights and he makes sacrifices. He has not scored like last year, he scored many goals that nobody expected. We have always scored and we will score because we have a lot of talent in front of us. The work he is doing is more important than the goals he scored last year.”
System with 5 defenders:
“The three centre-backs were there with the ball. Without the ball, it had to be a line of four defenders, as we have always done and will do. This team does not defend with five. In the end, when you are winning you can do it, but as an idea it will always be four.”
Team problems:
“There is a problem with physical condition. Not everyone is at 100%. We have to work more compactly as a team. The pressure up front has been good, but we lack solidity in the middle block. That is where the team loses a bit of solidity.”
What do you ask of Kylian Mbappé?
"Let him score goals, I prefer him to score goals than to press. The position of the centre forward has not changed, I ask him the same thing that I asked of Karim. To position himself well and be smart every time we recover the ball to make a quick transition."
Dortmund fear spies at the Bernabéu?
"Football has changed, we know everything about the opposing team because we can see all the games they play. There is no secret... I have enough data from all the games they have played."
Changes in Dortmund:
“Borussia have changed their coach and some players as well. They maintain the idea of intense football, they play well and with good individualities. They are a demanding opponent, they only recently played the Champions League final against us.”