Ancelotti assures the derby will be a duel of styles - "Are Atlético violent? This isn't a game for pansies"

Posted Saturday, September 13, 2014 by Marca.com

Carlo Ancelotti is expecting his players to put on the same fine performance against Atlético de Madrid tomorrow as they put on during the first half hour at the Anoeta stadium. Hopefully, the posterior 4-2 drubbing will have served as a harsh lesson for his disciples. The Italian didn't reveal his starting eleven, but did assure that Ronaldo and Benzema would both be playing.

Ancelotti assures the derby will be a duel of styles -

THE STARTING XI: "I'm not going to say the line-up, as I still don't have it clear myself. But I'm not going to change the ideas I have about the match. We want to get back to playing well, with intensity – something we usually do."

CRISTIANO: "Cristiano is on top form, in prime physical fitness. He plays when he's ok, when he's not tired, when he's not injured. I don't think that he played too much last year; he played when there was no risk of him getting injured. I think the handling of Ronaldo has been good. He doesn't have a chronic injury. Last year, he had a problem with his patellar ligament which he has now recovered from. We work on preventing injuries with him as we do with all our players."

ATLÉTICO'S INTENSITY: "Each team has its own style of play and the best thing we can do is impose ours out on the playing field. Each team has its own style from the characteristics of its players. That's football. Atlético has it's own, very intense. But that's football, this isn't a game for pansies, it's a game for men."