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Real Madrid fans are perplexed at Eder Militao starting their UEFA Super Cup clash against Eintracht Frankfurt instead of new signing Antonio Rudiger. The fight for their first silverware of the season is set to take place at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium today (August 10).
Rudiger joined Los Blancos this summer on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract with Chelsea. Many expected him to start against Frankfurt, but he finds himself on the bench.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti has chosen to put out the same lineup that started in their Champions League triumph over Liverpool on May 28.
Hence, Militao finds himself marshaling the defense alongside David Alaba, and many fans aren't pleased with this. They took to Twitter to share their reactions:
Militao joined Real Madrid from Porto in 2019. He has played 91 matches so far for Los Blancos and helped them lift the LaLiga and Champions League titles last season.
Ancelotti had already said yesterday in a press conference ahead of the match that he would start the same lineup as in the Champions League final.
He said (via Real Madrid's website):
“We're here thanks to the job done by those who won the Champions League. We didn't just win it with 11 players. Many of the players deserve to play, but I'm going to put out the side that won the Champions League final, with the old question mark about two or three of them (smiles)."
Carlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid will have to battle against Eintracht Frankfurt to win the Super Cup
Eintracht Frankfurt, the Europa League winners from last season, were beaten 6-1 by Bayern Munich in their opening Bundesliga match on August 5.
However, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti believes that the German side shouldn't be judged by their loss against Bayern. He stated that Los Blancos will have to fight and play well to win the UEFA Super Cup.
The Italian manager said:
“I watched the Eintracht game against Bayern and we won’t be fooled by that. They deserved to win the Europa League because they beat some very strong sides. They’re a lively side who play high-intensity football.”
He added:
“We know all about them and if we’re to beat them we're going to have to fight, battle and play well. We're in good shape to do just that because we’ve trained well and are feeling realling confident. Winning the Champions League has brought real excitement and that remains intact for us and our supporters. We want to keep the momentum going.”
After their Super Cup clash against Frankfurt, Real Madrid will begin their LaLiga title defense away against Almeria on August 14.
