Lunin will start for Real Madrid despite Kepa arrival, says Ancelotti

Ukrainian Lunin played in Real's 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao in their opening game of the La Liga season last weekend, after first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in training.

Ancelotti said before that match that he had faith in Lunin despite the 24-year-old's lack of experience, but he has since signed Arrizabalaga until the end of the season.

"Kepa is adapting very well, the first week of work has shown what we already know - a lot of quality and a lot of personality. Tomorrow we will continue with Lunin who did well in Bilbao and in the next games, we'll see," Ancelotti told a pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's game at Almeria.

Real have expanded their squad in an attempt to fight for the La Liga and Champions League titles after missing out on both last season. Veteran midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos only made appearances as second-half substitutes against Bilbao.

Ancelotti agreed with comments made this week by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola criticising the hectic nature of the schedule.

"They try to improve the quality of the show by putting on more matches - to improve the quality you have to remove the quantity," the Italian said.

"They want to put in more quantity to earn more money. They have to remove quantity to improve quality. The most affected are the players who suffer more injuries and cannot show the level of quality they have."

 

August 18, 2023