UCL 2022-23: 'Benzema's injury seems not so serious' - Ancelotti after Madrid's 3-0 Celtic dominance
Real Madrid got off to a dominant start in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, defeating Celtic 3-0 away from home. While Karim Benzema suffered an injury scare, club boss Carlo Ancelotti feels it's not so severe.
FollowIt was another prolific outing from defending European champion Real Madrid, as it came up with a dominating performance against Scottish champion Celtic away from home on Tuesday. It was a 3-0 win for the visitors, with the strikes coming from Vinicius Junior (56), Luka Modric (60) and Eden Hazard (77). While there were no goals from its exquisite veteran French striker Karim Benzema, an injury scare forced him to be substituted with Eden Hazard in the 30th minute. Nevertheless, Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti feels that the Frenchman's injury does not seem severe and vital, while his substitution was just a precautionary measure.
Besides Benzema, defender Eder Militao was replaced with Antonio Rüdiger in the 46th for the same reason. Talking to BT Sports, Ancelotti said, "It seems not so serious, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow. They are going to have a check, Benzema and Militao. It seems not so important."
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As for the game, Ancelotti measured, "[It's like] two games. In the first half, in [the] balance, we suffered a little bit, the intensity. In the second half, we had more control. We played well. We were comfortable with the ball and on the counter-attack. We were not surprised. We knew they could start fast with a lot of intensity."
"We were lucky because they hit the post, but after that, I think with the ball, we were good. Also, we didn't play so fast in the final third in the first half. The second half was much better. We needed to improve speed in the final third, and with combinations, we scored three fantastic goals," concluded Ancelotti.
