Carlo Ancelotti hinted on Monday that Vinicius The junior could return to Real Madrid for his team’s key Champions League match against red-hot Atalanta. Vinicius was expected to miss the Intercontinental Cup final next week after picking up a hamstring injury last month, but Ancelotti told reporters he is in contention to start in Bergamo on Tuesday night. “Vinicius is in good shape but we need to evaluate him. I think it’s very important for him how he performs in training today,” Ancelotti said.
“But we got Rodrigo back and Bellingham is good. He trained well. They will all train today and then we will make a decision.”
Federico Valverde is keen to bring Vinicius back to help Madrid get out of the awkward position they find themselves in in the Champions League.
Madrid may be two points behind leaders Barcelona with a game in hand in La Liga, but Ancelotti’s side are 24th in Europe’s top club competition and risk crashing out of the knockout stages in their last 16 matches in Bergamo.
“It’s always a pleasure to play with Vinicius and also to have him as a friend, a teammate, to be next to me,” Valverde said.
“We saw how much he wants to play and come back. Obviously, it’s great for us that he can play tomorrow. Whether he plays or not is a question for Carlo Ancelotti, but he can always offer something.”
Madrid will face arguably Europe’s best team in Atalanta, who matched their club record of nine straight Serie A wins with a win over Milan on Friday.
The victory gave Atalanta top spot in Italy’s top flight and Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, fifth in the Champions League having conceded just one goal in five matches, are considered by some to be favorites for Tuesday’s match although they lost to Madrid. in the European Super Cup.
“It will be a difficult game. Atalanta are in great form and have improved a lot since the Super Cup,” Ancelotti added.
“They won a lot of games. And they compete very well. We have the opportunity to pick up points and we have to take advantage of these three games to qualify.”
“The most important thing is qualifications. We need to get these points and it will be difficult. Getting into the top eight looks a little tough, so we might have to go through the playoffs. That’s how it is.”
Gasperini said his side were not favorites to win and warned against arrogance against the 15-time European champions.
“No team can call themselves favorites when they play Real Madrid,” he said.
“We’re very happy with where we are, but saying we’re better than Real Madrid doesn’t help.”
“We come into this match with extremely encouraging results and all we can do is be happy with what we have given our fans.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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