A stunning second-half of the season coupled with a drop in form for archrivals Barcelona has led to Real Madrid opening a four-point advantage at the top of the table with only a handful of matches remaining in the season. However, Barcelona have the opportunity to claw back the advantage when they visit the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend. Even though they come into the match on the back of a poor run of form, Barcelona are expected to dominate. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti witnessed his team comfortably seal qualification to the quarter-finals stages of the Champions League after beating Schalke.
Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the star of the show after scoring two goals against the German outfit. He is now very close to creating a new record for scoring in the Champions League in one single season. The record is currently held by the likes of Lionel Messi, who scored 14 a few years ago. Ancelotti says that it will be a tough test against Barcelona, but he is confident that Real Madrid are the best possible shape to take on the Catalan outfit. Even a draw will be a great result for Real, but they need to be wary of the threat from Atletico Madrid.
Ancelotti says that team has been playing consistently over the last few months and it is a delight to see them in this shape.
“This team is playing consistently. There are matches in which we have to play to different strengths. Our players’ attitude in defence was great and they worked hard. I think we are ready to play the Clasico. This was a very good and important result because winning here wasn’t easy but we managed to do it. We had plenty of chances to kill off the game but were lacking in terms of the final ball,” said Ancelotti.