CARLO Ancelotti says Real Madrid will now BOYCOTT LaLiga games scheduled with less than 72 hours rest beforehand.
Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday but the match kicked off 67 hours after his side’s penalty shootout victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Ancelotti claimed Madrid had contacted LaLiga twice to ask for the time of Saturday’s 5:30pm game to be changed.
Madrid travel to the Emirates to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on April 8.
The Italian manager then said it would be “the last time” such scheduling was arranged.
He fumed: “The explanation (for the win in the circumstances) is that this team has something special, character, commitment.
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“But they can’t always do it, sometimes I even get angry with them.
“We have to thank these players for their tremendous effort since January 3. Even more so today.
“I think today is the last game we will play with less than 72 hours rest. We will never do it again.
“We have asked LaLiga twice to change the time of the game and nothing has happened, but this is the last time.”
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LaLiga sources indicated Madrid did not make a request regarding the Villarreal game before the schedule for this weekend’s match round was confirmed, according to The Athletic.
The need for a 72-hour rest period between games has been raised to Fifa by player unions, but it’s not mandatory.
European mid-week competitors Barcelona, Atletico, Real Sociedad and Athletic Club all have league fixtures scheduled for Sunday.
Madrid saw themselves 1-0 down after Juan Foyth’s seventh minute goal, before Kylian Mbappe’s quick-fire double secured the turnaround.
Ancelotti could not rotate his team on Saturday, considering the league standings.
Los Blancos are currently first in the LaLiga table with 60 points, while Barcelona sit three points behind and Atletico four.
Meanwhile, Barca have another extra game following the postponement against Osasuna a week ago.
Ancellotti added: “It was a trap game, because of everything that happened.
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“Because of the hours of rest and because of the strength of the opponent, who are a good team, but we watered down physically.
“The team ended up exhausted, it’s quite normal. It’s a victory that says a lot about this team and the resources of this squad.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
