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Carlo Ancelotti has predicted that Vinicius Junior will return to his formidable best against Arsenal in the Champions League after the forward missed a penalty and was substituted during Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat at home to Valencia on Saturday.
Brazil international Vinicius spurned a chance to score the opener when his tame early spot kick was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili at the Santiago Bernabeu, although the 24-year-old equalised before Hugo Duro’s 95th-minute winner sealed the shock result.
“I haven’t spoken to him and I don’t need to,” Ancelotti said. “I know full well that maybe he could have played better against Valencia.
“But when he thinks he hasn’t played well, the next game he plays very well. I’m convinced he’s going to play well [against Arsenal].”
💫 @ViniJr 💫 pic.twitter.com/LRWCreOHtm
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2025
Madrid ‘evaluated’ Valencia defeat
Madrid are four points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona after losing to opponents who had been 32 points below them, and the reigning European champions now visit the second-placed side in England in the first leg of their European quarter-final on Tuesday (20:00 BST).
“We’re up against a team that does a lot of things well and they’re a complete team: they’re good at pressing up front, the low block and transitions,” observed Ancelotti.
“We have a clear approach and we’ll try to execute it. The team is in good physical condition and we can play with intensity.
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“We can’t think about criticism when we have a match every three days. We’ve analysed and evaluated the match against Valencia.
“Now we have to prepare well for this game, which is 90 important minutes. They won’t be decisive because there are another 90 minutes at the Bernabeu.”
🆗 ✖️ 🆗 pic.twitter.com/Im4N5lVFG1
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2025
Carlo Ancelotti: Arteta ‘fantastic’
Ancelotti said he retains the support of club president Florentino Perez and offered praise for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and captain Martin Odegaard, who joined Madrid as a 16-year-old in 2015 and left for Arsenal in 2021.
“He’s taken this team to the top of Europe,” he said of the Spaniard. “He’s doing very well and he’s built a complete team. There are not many complete teams in Europe.
“There are some that do some things very well, but there are not many complete teams like Arsenal. He’s doing a fantastic job. They are stronger with him than in the past.
“Arsenal are very dangerous from set pieces and we will try to defend as best we can. We can also do damage from set pieces.”
🤜 ⚽ 🤛 pic.twitter.com/Kxle3hynNu
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2025
Arsenal ‘good decision’ for Odegaard
“[Odegaard] is as talented now as he was when he was 16 years old,” Ancelotti added. “Nothing has changed in this respect. He had the personality and the courage to go out and find the experience to come back and become one of the best in Europe.
“He was very young and didn’t have the opportunity to play in the first team. There was no space for him to show his quality.
“He decided to go elsewhere and get playing time. It was a good decision. He’s at one of the best clubs in Europe.”
👉 🧠 👈 pic.twitter.com/I5FhspS2QO
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2025
Courtois: Arsenal set for silverware
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said he had been replaced by 19-year-old Fran Gonzalez from the start against Valencia as an injury precaution and would be fit to face Arsenal.
“We have great respect for them,” he reflected. “I have a lot of friends who are fans of this team and I know they’re doing very well.
“They’re a young team but they also have some experienced players. They’re strong in defence, in pressing, in counter-attacking and at set pieces.
“It will be difficult to play against them – it’s a matter of time before they win a trophy. I hope we can hurt them – we want to win. I played here many times with Chelsea [between 2011 and 2018] and I’m expecting a good atmosphere.”
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