Thursday, 23rd October, 2014
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admits he planned to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo before last night's match against Liverpool, if Los Blancos had victory in the bag.
Ronaldo opened the scoring at Anfield in the Champions League game, half-volleying the ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Real Madrid then eased to a 3-0 advantage by half-time, which they kept intact in the second half.
And Ancelotti withdrew Ronaldo for Sami Khedira in the 75th minute. It was, he claims, with an eye on this weekend's El Clasico against Barcelona.
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And the change was one the Italian always planned to make if his side were in control.
"We planned for him to come off if things went well", Ancelotti told a press conference.
"He sprinted a few times and to avoid problems, and keep him fresh for Saturday, I replaced him without asking.
"I didn't [ask] because there is no need. It's impossible to question a player when they are on the pitch."
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