Carlo Ancelotti welcomes the side for whom he has both played and managed, with distinction, to Madrid for this meeting between European giants in the Champions League
By Ian King
The Considerable History
Well, how long have you got? Real Madrid and Milan are, after all, the two most successful clubs in the history of this competition. They’ve won it 22 times between them and have played in 28 finals, though curiously only one of these was against each other in 1958, when Real won 3-2 in Brussels. But they haven’t played each other recently. Their last meeting in this competition came fourteen years ago, when the two sides drew 2-2 at the San Siro and Real won the return match 2-0.
Have Madrid got over their Clásico nightmare?
Real’s away match at Valencia was understandably postponed last weekend, but their last home match brought their first league defeat of the season, and quite a defeat it was. There’s no way of sugar-coating a 4-0 loss at the Bernabéu to Barcelona, but will the ten days between that match and this have allowed insecurities to fester or a desire to prove a point to flourish?
Milan won their last game at Monza on Saturday, but form has been patchy, with two defeats in their last four games – to Napoli and Fiorentina – and a somewhat underwhelming current position in Serie A of seventh. They haven’t been much better in the Champions League, with only one win and two defeats from their first three matches.
Key players
For Real Madrid, the key player going into this match is probably Vinícius Jr., who was the subject of the club’s weird and not entirely dignified recent decision to not bother to turn up to the Ballon d’Or awards. Such behaviour turns the heat up under him. Will he go out to show the award voters what they could have voted for?
The key player for Milan is Christian Pulisic, who has been their star performer so far this season. His seven goals in all competitions from midfield is more than have been scored by all of Milan’s attacking players between them, and he jointly leads their assists table alongside Rafael Leão.
Team News
Both teams have injuries. Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois, Rodrygo and David Alaba are all expected to miss out for Real, though there is hope that Antonio Rüdiger and Lucas Vázquez will be fit again after picking up knocks against Barcelona.
Milan also have injuries, with Luka Jović, Matteo Gabbia, Ismaël Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi all expected to be absent. But there is some good news for them. Tammy Abraham is expected to return, while Rafael Leão also a possible returnee after having missed their trip to Monza.
Prediction
Real Madrid could be considered vulnerable. They roared back to life against Borussia Dortmund in their last CL game, but that Barcelona defeat was chastening and showed how they can be beaten. But the problem with this is that Milan are a pretty limited team at the moment. They haven’t really impressed much in Serie A or this competition yet at all this season, so consequently it’s difficult to see past a comfortable win for the defending champions.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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