Real Madrid coach Ancelotti demanding victory over Barcelona

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Real Madrid coach Ancelotti demanding victory over Barcelona

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has told his players not to relax against Barcelona on Sunday.

Los Blancos currently hold a 15-point advantage over the Blaugrana, who have been enduring a transitional season after Lionel Messi's departure, but the Italian believes that a victory over their fierce rivals can put the title virtually in Real Madrid's hands, says Marca.

It would send a message to other teams around them that Los Merengues are the strongest team and won't be sacrificing points to aid their Champions League campaign.

Having such an insurmountable gap to Barcelona heading into April would be significant, especially with the number of matches Los Blancos are expected to play would require careful squad management from the Italian, which often leads to slips.

The former AC Milan coach is eager to be in as strong a position as possible before that happens, especially with a league match against Sevilla coming right inbetween the two ties against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final.

Aside from Ferland Mendy's absence and uncertainty over Karim Benzema's fitness, Ancelotti has enjoyed a rather calm build-up to the match, with Real Madrid in a very tranquil position at this juncture.

The injury crisis of February has disappeared and players are starting to hit form, most notably Vinicius Jr, who has been sensational of late.

"The youngsters are helping us a lot in this aspect, especially in midfield," Ancelotti explained.