Ancelotti: Real Madrid does not fear Barcelona

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday he was not afraid of facing La Liga leaders Barcelona but had great respect for Hansi Flick's side who visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

Barcelona tops the league table by 3 points over its traditional rival Real Madrid.

Ancelotti praised Barcelona's recent performances, but stressed that title holders Real Madrid are not afraid, saying in a press conference today: "Fortunately, at the moment, no one is worrying me."

"Barcelona are performing very well, but in the top match it is very difficult to choose the most likely team in advance. It depends on the course of the match, how to deal with the pressure and the pace of the match," he added.

The Real Madrid coach continued, "Barcelona has a clear approach and is performing very well. It is a very brave team, and we have to prepare well for the match and try to perform at our best."

Barcelona travel to Madrid on the back of a 4-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, maintaining Flick's impressive start to the campaign with 11 wins from 13 games in all competitions.

Ancelotti's response to criticism

But Real Madrid have been criticised for their slow start to matches, raising doubts about their hunger for success after winning the Spanish league and Champions League titles last season.

The latest example was in the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund last Tuesday when they had to come back from two goals down after a poor first half, then scored five goals after the break.

The Italian coach said that he is not worried about his players' concentration, and believes that they will be ready from the beginning of the match due to the intensity of the competition between the two teams.

"In matches like this you don't have to talk a lot beforehand, the idea is to define a very clear and simple approach, nothing else," Ancelotti added.

“It’s not a game that requires big speeches. Playing the same rhythm as the second half against Dortmund for 90 minutes is impossible, but that has to be the starting point, and that’s what we will try to achieve. I think we did a lot of things right. We will prepare for the game to do the right things when we have the ball or when we lose it. We have to play a complete game to win, and we will try to do that.”

(Reuters)