Ludogorets Razgrad vs Real Madrid preview - Ancelotti mindful of Ludogorets
Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2014 by PA
Few expect Ludogorets to get anything from their Champions League clash with holders Real Madrid, although head coach Carlo Ancelotti is not taking victory in Bulgaria for granted.
Fresh from last season completing 'La Decima', Los Blancos' sights have quickly trained on an 11th European crown.
A 5-1 thrashing of Basle was the ideal start to their Group B campaign, which they continue in Bulgaria on Wednesday evening.
Ludogorets made a promising start to the competition at Liverpool, when an injury-time penalty at Anfield saw them edged out 2-1 - a result which Ancelotti has highlighted ahead of the match at Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski.
"We're out to win the match to stay on course and stay top of the group," he said.
"That's the chief objective. In this competition, there are no modest teams. There are teams who fight to achieve the maximum.
"We all know how difficult it is to play at Anfield and I was surprised by the courage that Ludogorets showed there.
"We adopt a strategy to control a team, not one player. They have a dynamic, intense team that presses and looks for good solutions on the counter-attack.
"Those will be the weapons that they use against us tomorrow. We have a lot of fans in Bulgaria and the atmosphere is very good. We have received a lot of affection from the fans."
Jese, Sami Khedira and Fabio Coentrao miss the trip to Sofia through injury, while Portuguese defender Pepe is a doubt for the clash.
Ludogorets have no such issues and can welcome back goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov after serving a one-match ban at Liverpool.
Razgrad head coach Georgi Dermendzhiev called that last-gasp defeat a "bitter pill to swallow" and knows they now face an even tougher task now.
"We are proud to play against the best team in the world and the best players in the world," he said.
"They have won the European Cup 10 times and are the reigning champions. It is a great honour for our club to play against them.
"The league game (lost 3-2) against Levski on Saturday is in the past and we are looking forward to playing against Real.
"Our players are motivated. There is an obvious gulf in the levels between the teams. I am not worried at all, though. There is nothing to lose.
"We have talked a lot with the players. They realise only too well that they are up against the best players in the world. They must give their all."
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