Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t not believe that Vinicius Junior is obsessed with boosting his scoring tally and stressed that the Real Madrid forward is focused on helping the team.
Despite not having scored as many goals as he did in the first half of the season, the 21-year-old has played a vital role in Real Madrid‘s big wins in 2022.
“He doesn’t seem to be obsessed with scoring goals,” Ancelotti said during Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Wednesday’s match away at Osasuna.
“He has the motivation to win for the team. He’s doing very well. For me it’s not important that he scores. Well, it’s important, but not the most important [thing].”
Modric and Casemiro
Ancelotti went on to reveal that he is planning to rest Luka Modric against Osasuna, while Casemiro will also miss out due to a knock.
“Modric is one of the players who will rest, he will not be here tomorrow,” added Ancelotti.
“[Casemiro] has had a problem in training, it’s a small problem. He is not allowed to play, but I hope he can be available against [Manchester] City. The same with [Luka] Jovic and Mariano [Diaz].”
Benzema
Ancelotti also claimed that Karim Benzema is not tired, so for this reason the Frenchman will not be rested for Wednesday’s game.
“When a player is well, he doesn’t need to rest,” noted Ancelotti.
“It doesn’t make sense not to use [Benzema], because he’s fine. Tomorrow I’m going to play him.”
Title within reach
Real Madrid are close to winning the LaLiga Santander trophy after Barcelona’s 1-0 defeat to Cadiz at home on Monday, but Ancelotti refuses to speculate about when Los Blancos could clinch the title.
“I don’t need to be a mathematician, because I’m not. I like history more,” joked Ancelotti.
“I want to make it three in three and try to get the three points against Osasuna.”
Marca
