UCL 2022-23: Ancelotti vows to make Valverde score 10 season goals after Madrid's Leipzig win

Defending champion Real Madrid continued its flawless run in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League (UCL) as it moved a step ahead to qualify for the pre-quarters. On Wednesday, it hosted RB Leipzig and managed to secure a 2-0 victory comfortably, thanks to strikes from Federico Valverde in the 80th minute after an assist from Vinicius Junior, followed by Marco Asensio at the injury time after Toni Kroos’s aid. Meanwhile, following the success, Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti was impressed with Valverde’s performance and goal-scoring skills, vowing to make him score ten season goals by putting his managerial career on the line.

Following the victory, Ancelotti commented on Valverde and said, “Ooft! What was strange last year was that he only scored one goal in the Super Cup. If you can’t get a player like that to score at least ten goals in a season, then you should rip up your coaching badge and retire.”

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“Because he [Valverde] has a rock of a foot. Tonight he took the shot with his left foot. I’ve never seen him shoot like that with his left, so it shows he’s confident in his abilities and has many abilities. He’s more than just energy. But, to say he’s best in the world in his position, we might have to wait a little longer,” added Ancelotti, reports Managing Madrid.

However, despite the win, Ancelotti did not entirely term it as a fantastic game and considered, “We wanted to avoid their counters, which is their main strength, so we didn’t have too high a line or press too much in the first half. So, it wasn’t fantastic, but I can’t ask the players to play fantastic football at this stage in the season.”

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While Karim Benzema missed out due to an injury, speaking on his tactics without the Frenchman, Ancelotti reported, “I don’t think the tactics would have changed too much if we’d have had Benzema. We’ll evaluate him over the coming days, but we’re not going to risk him for the derby if he’s not ready.”