Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Real Madrid do not have an injury concern over Cristiano Ronaldo and that the Portuguese forward will play against Real Sociedad this weekend.
Ronaldo scored a record-equalling 14th Uefa Champions League goal of the season on Wednesday as Real took firm control of their quarter-final tie with German side Borussia Dortmund with a 3-0, first-leg victory.
Ronaldo was not on the field at the final whistle to celebrate as he had gone off with a knock to his knee, but Ancelotti denied that the club were concerned by the problem and he was firmly in his plans for Saturday’s match at Sociedad, as they look to get their misfiring Primera Liga title challenge back on track.
“We will wait and see what the problem is but, at the moment, we are not worried,” he said. “We are not thinking about giving him a rest.”
Despite the comprehensive nature of the victory, as Gareth Bale and Isco also found the net, Ancelotti believed his side still had more to do next week at the Westfalenstadion to progress to the last four.
“We know Dortmund will do everything to come back, that is normal,” he said. “We need to be careful and play our own game. If we play in the same way we did tonight then we will reach the semi-finals.
“In the first-half we pressured well high up the field and were efficient in front of goal.
“Due to the intensity of our play in the first-half we took a step back in the second, but that allowed us to play more on the counter-attack and find space.”
Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp was left to rue his side’s inability to take their opportunities as they created plenty of openings after the break, but too often took the wrong option with their final touch.
“There are many things we can learn. You have to do the right tactical things against the best teams in the world so that they can’t do what they want. That was the problem tonight,” he said.
“There are always different reasons why you lose the game and tonight it is pretty clear why. We were not cool enough in the box and that was the problem because we had the chances to score four or five goals.”
Dortmund started the game with just four of the side that beat Real 4-1 at home on their way to knocking out the nine-time winners in last season’s semi-final.
Klopp underlined the difference that Madrid’s financial power in the transfer market had made to the two sides over the past 12 months.
“They are good at counting here,” he said with a wry smile. “They signed (Asier) Illarramendi, Isco, Bale and I don’t think they lost any, maybe (Mesut) Ozil.
“Their second and third goals were very well executed and you cannot regulate for everything.
“The difference in quality is not so big as everyone thinks it is, but Real Madrid can buy 12 more players and that is the way things are.”
Chelsea hoping for a comeback while Ibrahimovic will be on sideline
Chelsea need a titanic turnaround to advance to the Uefa Champions League semi-finals after Paris Saint-Germain’s powerful performance.
A 3-1 first-leg loss at the Parc des Princes leaves Chelsea clinging to the hope they can still get through. The players are at least aware that the club has a precedent for such a comeback.
“We need a massive performance in the second leg now,” defender Gary Cahill said. “We need the performance that we had against Napoli the year we won it [2012].”
PSG’s star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss the second leg and spend the next four weeks on the sidelines due to a thigh injury.
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