"Bellingham has a sprained ankle; hopefully he can be avalaible on Tuesday"

The Italian Carlo Ancelotti assured that, with the "level" and "attitude" of Vinicius in 'Los Blancos' crucial win over title rivals Girona, for him, "he is the best in the world".

"Vinicius played a top game. He is very important. When he plays like this, with this level and this attitude, he is the best in the world," he told a press conference.

"Bellingham is second best and third Rodrygo. Fourth, Kroos, Valverde, Camavinga... the game was very good. I was comfortable on the bench," he added.

Ancelotti again avoided talking about Frenchman Kylian Mbappe when asked about his signing. "The player you have named is from another team and for me, the ones I have are the best," he declared.

Furthermore, the Italian coach addressed Bellingham's comparison with Zidane. "Zizou' had a superior level of quality, but Bellingham completes it with his finishing in the box. The first goal he scored was a move that few players can do," he said.

 

February 10, 2024

It remains to be seen whether the Englihs midfielder will be fit for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig, as he suffered a sprained ankle. "He has a sprained ankle and will be assessed on Sunday. Hopefully he can be ready for Tuesday," said the Italian.

On the other hand, Ancelotti explained that Rudiger, who was sidelined at the last minute with a left thigh injury, "is fine in normal running, but he struggles a bit with changes of direction", so they did not want to "risk it" and he will not play on Tuesday in the Champions League.

He also explained how the decision was made to use Carvajal as a centre-back instead of a home-grown player used to playing in that position.

"Carvajal is not trained. He told me that he didn't care whether he played at left centre-back or on the right. I put him on the left and he looked like he had played 400 games there. You don't have to teach Carvajal anything, because he has everything", he said.