Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said that the team that starts the UEFA Super Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt on August 10 will be almost identical to the one that took to the field for the Champions League final.
Los Blancos beat Liverpool 1-0 at the end of May to win the European Cup for the 14th time, and they have since played two friendly matches, losing 1-0 to Barcelona before drawing 2-2 with Club America.
The La Liga and European champions will now face Juventus in their final friendly of the summer on July 30 before taking on Europa League winners Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup next month.
Ancelotti has said that he will look to "reduce the workload" of some of the players for the next game with Juventus, where Dani Carvajal should be available to return following a fitness issue.
"We should consider the lineup that won the Champions League, since they're the reason we have this chance to win a trophy. We'll reduce the workload for the players in the next match against Juventus. Dani Carvajal should be back for that game," the Italian told reporters after the draw with Club America.
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Ferland Mendy was a doubt against Club America due to a fitness issue, but the France international did take to the field for the first half and is also expected to be available for selection against the Old Lady.
Meanwhile, Karim Benzema, who was not involved in El Clasico, played the opening 45 minutes of the clash with the Mexican giants, finding the back of the net in the 22nd minute.
"Even without many training sessions, he has arrived well and is doing well. He can still get even closer to his level," said Ancelotti when asked about his leading goalscorer from last season.
"I think it was a better match than the first one. We struggled at the start of the game since they're in better rhythm, but we had more intensity in the second half. It was a more roll and roll second half. [Dani] Ceballos and [Eduardo] Camavinga did well, bringing a lot of energy with the ball."
Ancelotti also commented on the pre-season form of Aurelien Tchouameni, who has moved to the Spanish giants in a big-money deal from Monaco this summer.
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"He's a different kind of pivot to Casemiro. Casemiro is more positional. We watched the Barcelona game to see where Tchouaméni could do better and position himself better. He is able to get forward well," said the Italian.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti also confirmed that Mendy remains his first-choice left-back despite suggestions that new signing Antonio Rudiger could be used in that area of the field this season.
"I had to try Rudiger at centre-back this time, and he did well alongside Nacho. It's clear that the starter is Mendy, but we have backups there for when he can't play. We could have a more attacking profile in David Alaba, or a more controlled one in Rudiger," he added.
Rudiger started alongside Nacho in the middle of the defence against Club America, with Lucas Vazquez at right-back, while there was a spot in attack for Marco Asensio amid the speculation surrounding his future.
After the UEFA Super Cup with Frankfurt, Real Madrid will turn their attention to the start of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign, with their opener taking place against Almeria on August 14.
Matt Law
