Carlo Ancelotti is gunning for his own quadruple

Real Madrid have a 15-point lead at the top of LaLiga and if they open that up by just one more, Carlo Ancelotti will have won the title by the biggest margin in the club's history.

It is an understatement to say inviting him to return from Everton last summer was a masterstroke. They have feasted so voraciously on their rivals that he could enjoy his post-title cigar a full four games before the end of the season.

It was fitting that he was seen smoking it on the open top bus that toured the city on Saturday night surrounded by four players who illustrate perfectly the job he has done.

Defenders David Alaba and Eder Militao have seamlessly replaced the seemingly irreplaceable Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos and Brazilian forwards Rodrygo and Vinicius have thrived under the 62-year-old Italian in a way they never did under Zinedine Zidane.

'I've not changed his position, he's just matured,' said Ancelotti of Vinicius when asked about him scoring 14 goals in the league this season, when he only managed six in the previous two combined. 'His finishing is far more measured now, he takes his time to take the right decision.'

Ancelotti is equally reluctant to take any credit for Karim Benzema's extraordinary campaign. In the summer there was concern at Madrid because the club did not sign any forwards. Where will the goals come from, Ancelotti was asked.

'Instead of 30, Benzema will have to score 50,' he said with a straight face. Benzema has 42 goals with five or six matches still to play.

Ancelotti was asked about that comment on Tuesday but while other coaches might have milked the moment, he just brushed it aside.

What most endears him to his players is that willingness not to make it about him. A more inexperienced