Mou confirms Ronaldo No 9 role

Jose Mourinho has confirmed that without Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo will take the No 9 position for the trip to Levante.

Mourinho lost his two main strikers within 24 hours to respective hamstring injuries this week, so heads into Week 11 with the need to try something different.

“At Levante, Cristiano will play as the No 9. We will play with Di Maria, Cristiano and Callejon in attack,” answered the Coach when asked of how he will bypass the problem.

However, at today’s Press conferece, the Portuguese was less than certain on who takes the left-back role. Fabio Coentrao returned to training this week, but may not be match fit.

“I do not know who will play on the left. I do not know if I can count on Coentrao or Arbeloa.

“Much depends on the training and the feelings of the players, whether or not they will play or be on the bench.

“What do I hope for from Coentrao? I expect nothing.”

The decisions come ahead of a difficult trip away to Levante and a ground where Los Blancos came unstuck last season.

“You have to play against all teams. Sometimes you play teams with different characteristics. On the one hand, you have to impose your football, and if you do not, you have to adapt to the characteristics of the adversary.

“Winning is not only difficult for us. It if was an easy stadium for others and difficult for Madrid, it would be another case. It is difficult for everyone.

“The last game they lost at home I can remember, and I remember how they lost it [2-1 to Barcelona]. It’s a difficult stage.

“Their style gets results, so no-one should criticise them. We never talk about the players, although it is true that we have some injuries. But we are not complaining.”

Mourinho was brief in his response to Karim Benzema’s recent statements that he is spending too long on the bench at the moment.

“I spend every 90 minutes on the bench.”

Tags Coentrao mourinho Ronaldo
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