Real Madrid’s top-of-the-table clash with Girona this weekend will not be a title decider, insists Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti.
LaLiga leaders Real are two points ahead of second-placed Girona, who have defied the odds to emerge as genuine contenders in just their fourth-ever season in the top flight.
Michel’s side would leapfrog Madrid back into pole position with victory at the Bernabeu Stadium, but Ancelotti said Saturday’s showdown will not be decisive.
The Italian told a press conference: “Whoever wins will gain the advantage, but there is still a long way to go in the league.
“Both teams are very well positioned and the game won’t decide the league, but (the winners) will have an advantage over the others.
“I don’t think the league will be decided no matter what happens. Both teams have high points and the sooner we get to 80 points, the sooner we can win the league.
“You don’t win the league with 80 points, but if you get close as soon as possible, you’re very close.”
Girona finished 10th in LaLiga last season after winning promotion via the play-offs under head coach Michel in 2022 and have beaten both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in this campaign.
Ancelotti said: “It will be a demanding match against a team that has done better than everyone else, including Real Madrid.
“It’s going to be tough, they’re doing very well. We have a lot of respect for them, while we are confident of winning again after drawing.”
Girona boss Michel will be absent from the Bernabeu dugout as he starts a two-match touchline ban after his red card in the closing stages of last week’s 0-0 home draw against Real Sociedad.
The Catalan club will also be without defender Daley Blind and midfielder Yangel Herrera through suspension.
On Michel’s absence, Ancelotti added: “Football is about the players, but the coach’s presence gives confidence to the team.
“However, it’s not a determining factor. It’s not decisive because football is about the players.
“Sometimes we coaches get carried away a bit in protest, but we need a bit more understanding because of the circumstances we’re in.
“A little more understanding could allow him to be at the Bernabeu on Saturday.”
Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger faces a late fitness test after missing last week’s 1-1 derby draw against city rivals Atletico due to a thigh injury.
Vinicius Junior (neck/shoulder) was an unused substitute against Atletico but will be in contention and Ancelotti confirmed defender Nacho (thigh) is hoping to be back for Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 clash in Leipzig.
Rodri: Guardiola always evolving to stay one step ahead
Pep Guardiola is constantly evolving to stay ahead of the rest of the game, giving him the best advantage to keep winning, so says Rodri.
Manchester City won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season, following on from their historic treble, with Rodri's goal sealing it as the club won their first-ever Champions League.
Rodri has been a key piece of Guardiola's team since joining from Atletico Madrid in July 2019, and last season made 34 appearances in the top-flight, never tasting defeat in any of them.
In all competitions last campaign, he made 50 appearances, playing the most minutes of any of his team-mates (4,325). Rodri also featured in six of Spain's seven Euro 2024 matches, helping them to win a record fourth title at the tournament.
The midfielder admitted that while Guardiola is constantly looking for improvement, he has also been the key to Rodri reaching his potential.
"To me, the unique thing about Pep is that he is always one step ahead," Rodri wrote in the Players Tribune. "He is always evolving before the game around him can evolve.
"He is never satisfied with keeping things exactly as we played last season, because your competition is always going to be analysing last season. You don't win four Premier League titles in a row by standing still. You either reinvent yourself or you die.
"For me, he added that final mental piece of the puzzle. "Seeing" the game in a different way. "Feeling" it — when to move into space, when to hold back. When to press, when to ease off.
"His confidence was so important to me, because you have to remember, when I came here in 2019, I was walking into a changing room with Fernandinho, Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne. Legends."
In his five years in Manchester, Rodri has won four Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, a Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
City only failed to win the Premier League in Rodri's first of those five seasons, while the Spaniard has only suffered defeat in two finals while at the club: the Champions League in 2021 and the FA Cup last term.
However, he says those defeats are what drive him to improve, using them as learning moments when it comes to challenging for the next trophy.
"We have been very blessed the last few years with City, but it's not real life," Rodri added. "In the good moments, you don't learn, you just enjoy.
"In the bad moments, when you truly suffer, that's when you really grow. I remember after the '21 Champions League final against Chelsea, I walked back into the little family area, and when I saw my parents and my brothers, I literally couldn't speak.
"It was like I was 10 years old again, at the kitchen table. I couldn't say a word. I just thought: I never want to feel this feeling again. I have to work harder. I have to find a way to be better."
United States mentality issues to blame for Canada loss
The United States must tackle some concerning mentality issues, which are to blame for their defeat to Canada.
That is the view of interim coach Mikey Varas, who has few answers for solving the problem.
USA were beaten 2-1 by Canada in Kansas City on Saturday, in their first game of the post-Gregg Berhalter era.
It marked Canada's first victory on US soil in 67 years.
And while Mauricio Pochettino reportedly waits in the wings to take over the Stars and Stripes, Varas hit out at the team's mentality.
"The mentality is on the players. They know it," he told reporters.
"We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can't do that for them. That's on them.
"I'm not a psychologist, so I don't know. I felt that the training [sessions] were intense. They were aggressive.
"But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective."
Varas did shoulder some of the blame, too, suggesting he may have tried to introduce too many new ideas, too soon.
"I think on the ball, that's on me," he said.
"I want to present some ideas to them and you just never know how it's going to translate from training to the game after three training sessions. And I asked a lot of them, you know, and if there's a goal, I mean, that's on me.
"When you don't have a lot of time to work and you want to play a certain way it creates confusion.
"Players are going to take responsibility for quality of action. The translation of the ideas wasn't clear enough because you shouldn't be static and you shouldn't pass the ball just to pass the ball. You're trying to be trying to accelerate play as quickly as you can."
Nagelsmann backs Musiala and Wirtz for Ballon d'Or
Germany have two potential Ballon d'Or winners on their hands in Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, so says Julian Nagelsmann.
Musiala scored once and laid on three assists as Germany hammered Hungary 5-0 in the Nations League on Saturday.
One of Musiala's assists teed up Wirtz to make it 3-0, after the Bayer Leverkusen star had teed up Germany's number 10 for the hosts' second goal in Dusseldorf.
Musiala created seven chances throughout, while Wirtz played two key passes as Germany mustered 3.7 xG to Hungary's 1.1.
“When both are in the mood and really put their foot down, it's difficult for the opposition, they're exceptionally good," Nagelsmann told ZDF.
"These are two footballers – when they link up with each other, it's very, very good to watch.
"Jamal has already undergone a great transformation in the past year in terms of his presence in the box. During [Euro 2024] it was very good, today it was phenomenal."
Speaking to Sky Sport, Nagelsmann said: "Both [Musiala and Wirtz] have the potential to win the Ballon d'Or."
At the age of 21 years and 194 days, Musiala became the youngest player to record four direct goal involvements in a single Nations League match.
Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring just before the half-hour, and the West Ham forward said: "It is fun to watch that today.
"Jamal was in really good form. It is great to have him in the squad.
"We made a lot of deep runs and made it really hard for the opponents. Even when we did not have possession we controlled the game."
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