How Real Madrid secretly targeted Kepa Arrizabalaga in Champions League clash
By Sean Walsh
Carlo Ancelotti has opened up on how Real Madrid looked to catch out Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga one week after their UEFA Champions League meeting at Stamford Bridge.
Los Blancos advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-0 aggregate victory against the Blues in the last eight, winning 2-0 in each leg.
Chelsea sought to mount an improbably comeback in west London last Tuesday, but despite a promising first half, they were unable to wrestle back control of the tie and Real Madrid scored twice after the break to put the contest to bed.
But the media in Spain picked up an interesting detail in the days following the match. It was picked up that Federico Valverde was standing just behind kick-off taker Karim Benzema for the start of the second half as if a set routine was going to take place.
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Ancelotti was asked about this in a press conference prior to Tuesday night's defeat at Girona, admitting Real Madrid scouts noticed that Kepa usually began halves standing way off his line, with Valverde primed to lob him straight from kick-off - only for the goalkeeper to thwart their plans and revert to a conservative starting position.
"We had seen in recent games that Kepa was left at the beginning of the game on the penalty spot and we thought that with a long shot from Valverde we could score," Ancelotti admitted.
"We tried to work a lot on set pieces, less defensively because we defend in the zone. At this point in the season we can work on it much more than the tactical aspect because it means less fatigue for the players."
Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 in La Liga on Saturday before falling 4-2 to Girona three days later.