What’s the story?
The Real Madrid squad for the upcoming Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid has been announced, and the duo of the injured Pepe (broken ribs) and Gareth Bale (calf injury) are the only two major absentees. Here is the full squad for the same,
Goalkeepers: Navas, Casilla and Yáñez.
Defenders: Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo and Danilo.
Midfielders: Kroos, James, Casemiro, Kovacic, Modric, Asensio and Isco.
Attackers: Ronaldo, Benzema, Lucas Vázquez, Mariano and Morata
Also Read: Xavi: Ronaldo's problem is that Messi exists
In case you didn’t know..
Real Madrid take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday with the first leg set to take place at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Madrid giants have locked horns two times in the finals of the competition in the last three years, where Real have emerged the winners in each of the two occasions.
Atletico Madrid also have been blighted by injuries to their defence, with Uruguay centre-back Jose Gimenez (groin), former Real right-back Juanfran (thigh) and Croatia full-back Sime Vrsaljko (hip) all ruled out of the tie. Winger Yannick Carrasco is also a major doubt with a collarbone injury.
The heart of the matter
Zinedine Zidane will be relatively happy despite the two injuries, especially with the return of 24-year-old Raphael Varane. The Frenchman has had a stop-start season so far, blotted by injuries.
But, with Pepe out, Varane’s return will allow Zidane to rotate between the other two fit centrebacks, ie, Nacho and Sergio Ramos. Gareth Bale hasn’t been playing to his full potential, and he too will unlikely be a huge miss.
What’s Next?
As Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane put it in his pre-match press conference, “What happened in the past is in the past, we can't rely on that now. The extra motivation comes from it being a Champions League semi-final”, but the two wins in the respective finals will surely give his squad a lot of confidence.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone however, is confident that his side can pull off an upset. He said, “I never tire of praising these players, they are incredible,” in the pre –match presser. They have knocked out big fish (Bayern Munich and Barcelona) in the group stages before and are more than capable of doing the same again.
Author’s Take
Real Madrid have the squad they need, and although Atletico Madrid are hampered with injuries Simeone’s side will be no pushovers. Atletico’s main aim will be to nick an away goal, and with their defence, it will be an uphill task for Real Madrid in the second leg.
