News Real Madrid: Coach Carlo Ancelotti believes it is a ‘good sign’ that he is not among the favorites for the Champions League.
Real Madrid reaches the Champions League 22/23 as champion of the European competition. They defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the final last season to become Champions League winners.
Real Madrid is the most successful team in the history of the Champions League, having won it a record 14 times.
The Spanish giants begin their 22/23 Champions League campaign by taking on Celtic in an away game in the group stage. The match kicks off at 12:30 am Indian Standard Time on September 7.
Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti on the Whites not being favorites to win the Champions League
Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have better odds of winning the Champions League this season compared to Real Madrid.
Speaking before the match, Ancelotti said it is a “good sign” that Real Madrid are not among the favorites to win the Champions League this season. He also pointed out that they were statistically less likely to win the trophy last season.
Ancelotti insisted that they will fight until the end and expressed his hope that they could reach the final. “I’m not surprised they put us so far behind in the bookies. I see it as a good sign, last year they gave us even less chances in the statistics. This year we have improved, we have a little more…”, said the Real Madrid coach.
“I think it’s going to be the same as last year, we’re going to compete until the end and I hope I can compete until the final.”
For its part, Real Madrid have had a stellar start to the 22/23 season. They started in style by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup final.
Real Madrid are also undefeated in the 22/23 La Liga season and have a 100% winning record. They began their defense of the league title with a 2-1 victory over Almería.
Real Madrid then faced Celta de Vigo, thrashing them 4-1 and taking all three points. They faced Espanyol next and recorded a 3-1 win.
Real Madrid’s last victory came against Real Betis, whom they beat 2-1. Both teams came into the game with nine points each and Real Madrid came out on top. Real Madrid now sit top of the league with 12 points from four games.
For their part, Celtic, whom the Whites face in their first match of the CL 22/23 season, also arrive in very good form. So far they have played six games in the Scottish Premiership this season and have won them all. They also sit at the top of the table, with 18 points.
