Pellegrini’s statements:
(Players out / Apono). “Not having your important players is always a problem. Julio couldn’t recover from this injury; Willy’s out on a sanction so he’s not allowed to play; and it’s better that Duda maintains a high-level of training for the three matches this week. It’s Apoño’s opportunity; but I don’t do individual analyses. He’s training better.”
(Real Madrid). “We’re taking on a great team and we’re going to have to play a match with the best possible mistakes. We’ll take the necessary precautions but we’ll try and do what we do every week. In football, the favourite is the one who starts off in a better position. Historically, Madrid has a more power than Málaga, but they’ve got to demonstrate that on the pitch. We all know the rival teams and we all know the capacity of the Real Madrid players.”
(Levante match). “One always wants to correct the mistakes of previous matches and maintain the virtues. The last match was a strange one, and we didn’t make the grade. The team seemed slow but Levante’s also second on the table and you can’t knock that.”
(Mourinho). “I’ve not got anything to prove, my conscience is clear and coming to Málaga was one of the best decisions of my life.”
(Previous showdown/ options). “Yes, we’re ready to do battle. In that match we couldn’t be competitive with another match in 72 hours, it would have been irresponsible; and despite that ugly defeat in Madrid, we were able to finish the championship with our mission accomplished. With Real Madrid, I think we’re gong to have more chances, the team’s clear about what it wants and hopefully tomorrow we can do it well.”
(Rubén). “He’s absolutely ready to play, he’s got lots of confidence in what he does and we’re sure he’ll go a great job.”
(Maximum motivation). “Madrid, like Barcelona, always give you extra motivation, even though La Rosaleda doesn’t need it because they’re (the fans) motivated, and for them it’s a ‘fiestas’ to see the players who’ve come to Málaga and also to see Real Madrid’s men. A win? It would be significant as we would get back into Champions positons and have the same points as Real Madrid.”
(Stopping Ronaldo). “If there could be some way it wouldn’t be just Cristiano Ronaldo. We’re trying to take on board the qualities of all the players and we’ll work on them as a collective. That stat of not winning against them in 20 games? Let’s try and break that.”