Ancelotti fine with Madrid not seen as favorites against City

MADRID: Carlo Ancelotti doesn't seem bothered by hearing that Real Madrid are not the favorite against Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals.

That has happened a couple of times already this season, and he knows the 13-time European champions can do just fine.

Madrid visit Man City in the first leg of the semifinals on Tuesday, hoping to return to the final for the first time since winning their last title in 2018.

“People said that there were two teams in the semifinals that nobody believed would make it this far — Real Madrid and Villarreal,” Ancelotti said Monday. “And here we are, thrilled to have made it. Madrid will always compete, it’s what we always do.”

Madrid eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, getting the best of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi, then defeated defending champion Chelsea in the quarterfinals.

“We’ve had some very tough opponents so far, who in the beginning were considered the favorites to win the competition, but we’ve done well against them and tomorrow we will try to compete well again, there’s no doubt about that,” the Madrid coach said.

Madrid are in the semifinals for the 10th time in 12 seasons, and first time since being eliminated by Chelsea at this stage last year. The team is making a record 15th semifinal appearance.

Ancelotti may be without two regular starters because of muscle injuries on Tuesday — defender David Alaba and midfielder Casemiro. Both made the trip to England but it was unclear if they would play.

“It's more likely that Alaba can make it, not so much Casemiro," Ancelotti said. “He is trying. We'll see.”

The coach has a few options to replace Casemiro, with Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga able to play in the