Carlo Ancelotti has backed Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane to handle the pressure of overcoming a first-leg deficit in their Champions League tie against Wolfsburg tonight.
The Spanish giants trail 2-0 after last week’s shock result, as goals from Ricardo Rodriguez and Maximilian Arnold gave the German side a commanding advantage.
However Ancelotti believes that Zidane’s experience from his playing career will help him inspire his side to overturn the deficit.
“[Zidane] has also experienced these kinds of situations as a player and he knows how pressure needs to be handled in these moments,” the Italian told Goal.
“I think Real Madrid have enough quality to do it. They have top players who know how to handle these situations even if the result of the first game wasn’t a positive result and it won’t be easy in any case.”
Zidane was Ancelotti’s assistant when he led Los Blancos to Champions League glory in 2014, overturning a 1-0 deficit against Atletico Madrid in the final.
Ancelotti, who will take over from Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich at the end of this season, warned that his former club may have to overcome a similar brand of counter-attacking football that his side did with Atletico.
The former Chelsea and AC Milan boss also pointed to the positive reaction the Madrid players had shown in bouncing back with a convincing victory over Eibar in La Liga – insisting that the first-leg result should now be forgotten by Zidane’s men.
“Wolfsburg counter-attacked and defended very well in the first-leg,” he added. “It is a very uncertain game but I think Madrid will go through because it is crucial for Los Blancos to reach the semi-finals.
“You need to shut out the bad feelings as soon as possible after a defeat. You need to think positive and Real Madrid can use the [4-0 win over Eibar] to recover. The past has happened and you need to keep thinking about the immediate future.”
Los Blancos will be reliant on their BBC of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo this evening. Benzema will provide a boost with his return from injury, while Bale was rested at the weekend and Ronaldo warmed up with a goal against Eibar.
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