By Darwin Largo
This Wednesday Real Madrid will play their last match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the Champions League group C. It will be against Napoli, their strongest rival. Los Merengues need at least a draw to secure the first place in the group standings and thus have a less demanding match in the round of 16. This is because all the teams that finish first in their respective groups face all the teams that finished second.
However, the main objective has already been achieved. With four wins in the first four matches, the Spanish side qualified for the next phase without any problems and can now relax and focus their efforts on La Liga, where they are leaders thanks to Girona's draw against Athletic Bilbao.
For this Wednesday's match, coach Carlo Ancelotti will have a serious problem: Luka Modric will be absent. The Croatian midfielder finished Sunday's match against Cadiz with a sore hamstring and was therefore excluded from the call-up list for the match against Napoli. He joins other injured players, such as Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Ancelotti was asked about this problem during the press conference he held on Tuesday and said: "Talking a lot about the problems we have and injuries seems to me to be disrespectful to those who are going to play and do well. It is important to think about what we have. They are contributing in a way that was never expected. If we are able to be at the level with these problems it means that this squad is very good."
While they have many injured players, Real Madrid will also have some good news. Brahim Diaz is recovered from the stomach problems that prevented him from playing against Cadiz and will be part of the squad this Wednesday. The forward was supposed to be part of the starting lineup on Sunday, but at the last minute Rodrygo had to play in his place.
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