Though unsure about the outcome against Arsenal, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti made it clear that his team will leave everything on the pitch.
Real Madrid carries dreams, ambition, and countless stories of incredible comebacks. With a tough match ahead against Arsenal, Ancelotti is far from losing confidence. He firmly believes his team will give their absolute best to achieve the result they want.
To overcome the heavy 3-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, Ancelotti is relying not only on team effort but also has high hopes from one man in particular—French forward Kylian Mbappé. Speaking in a press conference, he made it clear he expects a goal from the star striker.
Real Madrid will host Arsenal in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday. The 15-time Champions League winners are aiming to bounce back from the heavy loss in the first leg.
It’s a tough deficit to overturn—but not impossible, especially for Real Madrid. That’s exactly why Ancelotti is looking to lean on Mbappé, who is the team’s top scorer in this year’s European campaign with seven goals.
Mbappé, however, has been dealing with a bit of emotional turbulence after being shown a red card in Real’s narrow 1-0 win over Alavés in La Liga. The incident affected him mentally, and he later apologized to the fans for losing his temper. But since then, the forward has managed to regroup.
On Tuesday, Ancelotti shared insights about Mbappé’s mindset and what he expects from him. He also reminded his team what it takes to rise in difficult times.
“He was hurt and disappointed about what happened. But yesterday, he trained really well and looked highly motivated. We need him. We can’t just defend—we have to score goals. More than ever, we need him to find the net tomorrow.”
“We need everything—our quality, unity, and full effort from everyone. There’s no room for mistakes. During tough times, we need confidence and focus. We need even more energy when things aren’t going our way.”
Whether this energy will be enough to knock out a fired-up Arsenal remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—the Italian coach is confident that his players will fight with everything they’ve got.
“I talked to the boys about the emotions of this match, the mindset we need to have on the pitch. There’s plenty of motivation, and I want them to prepare calmly. The only thing we don’t know is whether we’ll get the result we want. But one thing is for sure—we’ll give it everything we have.”
