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Dubai Football Challenge: Rampant Real Madrid won’t let up against AC Milan | GulfNews.com


  • Image Credit: AP
  • Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo

Dubai: Victory over AC Milan in Tuesday’s Dubai Football Challenge at
The Sevens stadium here would help Real Madrid build momentum towards a
record 24 consecutive competitive wins, Los Blancos coach Carlo
Ancelotti said on Monday.

Fresh from their 2-0 Fifa Club World Cup final win over Argentina’s San
Lorenzo in Morocco last week, Real have now won their last 22
consecutive games in all competitions and are on course to break the
world record of 24 wins in a row set by Brazilian side Coritiba, whose
record winning streak ran from February to May 2011.

Real’s friendly against AC Milan won’t count in the tally, as it’s not a
competitive fixture, but Ancelotti’s side won’t want to lose momentum
ahead of their upcoming games away to Valencia (January 4) and Atletico
Madrid (January 7) — the side they last lost against back in September.
If they win those two games, they would break the record with victory at
home to Espanyol on January 10.

“We are not going to kill the players,” said Ancelotti. “What they need
is rest, but we will play this match the best we can, and the team is
motivated because if we win this game it helps us win the next match.
the weather and atmosphere is good for us, which gives us good
motivation for our games next week.

“We are all happy to be in this moment and we hope it will be the same
in the future. But we have to pay attention because football can be a
little strange — when everything seems good, that’s the moment you fall
down. So we must stay focused and concentrated to continue.

“In football there are no secrets to success,” he added. “There is only hard work, professionalism and organisation.”

Ancelotti added that he would field a full-strength side against AC Milan, with only injured defender Sergio Ramos missing out.

“Every player that is here is going to play,” he said. “I cannot tell
you the line-up from the beginning but all will play. The only players
who won’t be playing are those still in Madrid due to injury. But
Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are going to play and I hope they
will play well.

“We are happy to be here in Dubai because we have a lot of support here
in the Middle East. Of course we are happy to come here, to play this
game, show our quality and give happiness to our supporters.”

Real and Spain players Isco and Dani Carvajal both agreed the AC Milan match would help the team continue their winning run.

“We know 2015 will be very difficult at the beginning,” midfielder Isco
said. “We will carry on the way we ended 2014 and look to continue the
very long number of consecutive victories. The team is mentally prepared
to face the challenge next year.”

Right-back Carvajal added: “It’s a match we were asked to do in the
winter break but we will take it very seriously. We are excited about
this match because it is good preparation for us as January will be a
hard month for us.”
Dubai Football Challenge: Rampant Real Madrid won’t let up against AC Milan | GulfNews.com