Karim Benzema has recovered from an injury in time for Wednesday’s Champions League match between Real Madrid and Liverpool, but Carlo Ancelotti has warned Los Blancos to forget their victory at Anfield earlier this month.
Benzema and Vinicius Junior both scored twice when Madrid thrashed Jurgen Klopp’s team 5-2 in the first leg of the round of 16 in February, but the striker’s form has dipped since then.
The Madrid captain has gone three games without scoring in all competitions, and this season, injuries have only allowed him to play in 15 LaLiga games.
Ancelotti claims that Benzema is ready to go for Liverpool’s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu despite missing Saturday’s 3-1 victory against Espanyol due to an ankle injury.
“Benzema is 100 per cent recovered. He has done good work in training sessions since Sunday,” Ancelotti said at Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.
“He has great enthusiasm for this game. For me, for the players, for the club and for Karim, this is a massive competition.”
Asked about Benzema’s lack of form in recent weeks, Ancelotti said: “We’re not talking about criticism. We’re talking about his condition, how he’s doing… I see him looking good, motivated and excited for tomorrow’s game.”
🦿 @Benzema
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 13, 2023
👀 @atchouameni pic.twitter.com/pbuhAC04Ui
Madrid became the first visiting team to score five goals in a European fixture at Anfield last month, and they have progressed from 26 of their 27 European Cup/Champions League ties when winning on the road in the first leg.
However, with Liverpool one of just four sides to have overturned a first-leg deficit of three goals or more to win a Champions League tie, Ancelotti remains wary of their threat.
“We have to work on our defence and what we do in the final third. We’re not focused on that first leg,” he said.
“We’ve got our game plan, which we’re going to stick to. We’ll try to start off strongly, play with plenty of tempo and look to win the match.
“We’re going to approach this match like its just 90 minutes, we’re not going to get the calculator out and work out how many goals we need. We can’t focus purely on defending.”
Madrid were involved in several dramatic Champions League ties last term, including when they squandered a 3-1 first-leg lead over Chelsea before sealing a 5-4 aggregate win in the last eight in extra time in the home leg.
Ancelotti is determined to enjoy a smoother passage to the next stage on Wednesday, saying: “Maybe people don’t see me that stressed, but of course I suffer a lot and against Chelsea, I did!
“Everyone played their part on that day and it was a remarkable victory. We’ve got to make sure it’s a very different game this time.
“That’s why I said we’re not going to get our calculator out. We’re going to make sure we book our place in the next round.”