adminMADRID. — Barcelona and Real Madrid face off for the first major title of the Spanish season in the Copa del Rey final at the Mestalla in Valencia tonight.
However, the build up to the game for both sides has been disrupted by injuries to key players. World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona due to a hamstring injury, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed.
The Portuguese star has missed Real’s last three games due to the problem and Ancelotti said he didn’t want to risk him with their Champions League semi-final, first leg against Bayern Munich just a week away.
“Cristiano is not available because we don’t want to take risks and we have other very important games to come this season,” he said at his pre-match press conference yesterday.
However, Madrid have lost only once in 10 games without Ronaldo so far this season and Ancelotti believes the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Angel di Maria can compensate for the loss of the former Manchester United man.
“We have many players out, not just Cristiano, but we have a lot of confidence in this team and the team has always responded well to missing players.” — AFP.
Online Reporter