MADRID (AP) — Aurélien Tchouaméni can definitely hear the boos from the Real Madrid crowd.
He is not really listening to them, though.
The France midfielder has being doing his best to turn the cheers into applause after a tough stretch and has been playing well going into Madrid's decisive Champions League match against city rival Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Tchouaméni could be key for coach Carlo Ancelotti as Madrid tries to hold on to a 2-1 victory from the first leg at home in the round of 16.
“The whole team is ready, we will give everything to win the match,” the 25-year-old Tchouaméni said. “Atleti will play a very attacking game, but we know what we have to do. We will give everything to win the match.”
Tchouaméni has been having to improvise as a defender because of a series of injuries to Madrid's regular starters, and he was targeted by fans after a few costly mistakes and poor performances in important matches, including a 5-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in January.
“Of course I hear the boos during the matches,” he said Tuesday. “But it’s not a problem, every match has its own story.”
He said he is fine playing in a different position than his natural one but admitted that it requires some changes to his game.
“Playing as a midfielder or as a defender is very different," he said. "In defense, you don’t have the ball for as long and you have to adapt.”
With central defenders Raúl Asencio and Antonio Rüdiger set to start, Tchouaméni is expected to play as a midfielder again on Wednesday, when Atletico is likely to come out attacking at home. He will anchor the first line of defense that will try to keep Atletico from getting near Thibaut Courtois' goal.
Madrid is the defending Champions League winner and a record 15-time European champion. It has beaten Atletico twice in the final — in 2014 and 2016 — and eliminated the city rival the other two times they faced in the knockout stages of the Champions League — in the 2015 quarterfinals and 2017 semifinals.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
