Real Madrid head coach refuses to release Ukraine's goalkeeper for the match - media

Real Madrid's Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin will not play in the 33rd round of La Liga against Real Sociedad, which will take place on Friday, April 26. According to AS.com, the head coach of the royal club Carlo Ancelotti plans to rotate the squad.

After the victory over the main rival in the fight for the championship the day before, Real Madrid is 11 points ahead of Barcelona, which gives the Italian specialist the opportunity to give the leaders a rest before the game with the mid-table Spanish championship.

Ancelotti is going to start Arde Güler, Dani Ceballos, Braim Diaz, Joselu and Fran Garcia. Also, from the first minutes, Kepa Arrizabalaga will defend the goal, not a player of the Ukrainian national team.

"The club appreciates very positively that Arrizabalaga's behavior, in his difficult situation, is impeccable. He played a key role in the penalty shootout against City, giving advice to Lunin, and the competition with the Ukrainian has always been healthy," AS.com writes.

Earlier, the media reported that Lunin rejected an offer to extend his contract with Real Madrid and is considering a move to the English Premier League. The management of the Royal Club failed to convince our compatriot that his role would change significantly in the new season.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Real Madrid beat Manchester City on penalties (4:3) in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Andriy Lunin became the main star of the match, saving two 11-meter shots.

It will be recalled that the rights to the 29-year-old Arrizabalaga belong to Chelsea, where the goalkeeper will return after the expiration of his contract on June 30, 2024.

Arrizabalaga's problems began after an injury to his adductor muscle. He was a non-competitive player in the starting lineup, but fell out of favor. This gave Lunin, who replaced Kepa, the opportunity to gain confidence.

The key moment happened during the Spanish Super Cup. Ancelotti and his staff agreed that Kepa would play the first game against Atletico Madrid. In this game, Kepa missed a shameful goal, after which the coaching staff decided to stop the rotation, giving preference to the Ukrainian.

In 2018, Arrizabalaga joined Chelsea from Athletic for €80 million. This made the 23-year-old Basque the most expensive goalkeeper in football history at the time.

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