It’s been a bad week to be a Real Madrid fan.
Last Saturday, they were thumped 4-0 by arch-rivals Barcelona in the Santiago Bernabeu home. Summer signing Kylian Mbappe had a Clasico debut to forget that night as Carlo Ancelotti’s team were overwhelmed in the second half, leaving them trailing La Liga leaders Barca by six points.
Forty-eight hours later, Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was beaten to the Ballon d’Or, the award recognising the best player in the sport over the previous year, by Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri. Madrid’s reaction was to effectively boycott the event in Paris, despite Ancelotti winning the award for best coach of the year and the club being named team of the year after their La Liga-Champions League double.
A bit of perspective, perhaps: Madrid did not have a game this weekend, after their visit to Valencia was postponed due to flash floods in and around the latter city that have claimed the lives of at least 200 people. Their next game is at home against AC Milan in the Champions League tomorrow (Tuesday).
So, what do the Spanish and European champions have to do to solve their problems? Our two Madrid correspondents discuss…
What’s Real Madrid’s single biggest problem right now?
Mario Cortegana: It’s difficult to pick out just one, but I’d say attitude.
Since the beginning of the season, we’ve seen a team who find it difficult to get into games. They have scored just five times in the first half of games compared to 26 times after the break. When they have needed to react, it has often been too late, or wins have not been wholly convincing.
From defence to attack, the desire to win from the outset has seemed to be lacking. Despite a star-studded line-up including Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham, talent isn’t enough on its own.
Guillermo Rai: I’d say it’s a tactical issue. If Ancelotti can move on from the retired Toni Kroos and help Mbappe find his feet, the team will surely start to work better. So far, they haven’t found the right balance and we’ve been waiting for it for a while.
That makes it even more difficult for them to take risks and puts more pressure on the coaching staff. Like Mario says though, there are other problems, including physical preparation and attitude, that would help improve performances.
Do you think the reaction to their 4-0 defeat by Barcelona has been over the top?
Cortegana: The team’s reaction was disappointing. No player gave explanations in the Bernabeu’s mixed zone afterwards and Ancelotti showed a lack of self-criticism in the press conference despite how poorly his team had played and the disastrous result.
I also didn’t understand why the team kept their days off — not training again until Tuesday at 4pm — especially when Barca trained on the Sunday. Hansi Flick’s team had a day’s less rest between their 4-1 Champions League win against Bayern Munich and El Clasico (the Bayern match was on the Wednesday, the night after Madrid played Borussia Dortmund), ran more than Madrid at the Bernabeu and arrived home in the early hours of Sunday morning. But they still trained that day.
Rai: I don’t think it was such a bad game from Madrid. But Ancelotti didn’t recognise they played badly because he was trying to protect himself. He’s failed to find a solution for more than two months and continues to be blamed for his side’s issues.
The 1-0 defeat against Lille in the Champions League (on October 2) was easier to criticise in terms of their performance. But it made sense for them to be called out after the Clasico, where the constant problems in terms of their style were apparent again and translated into the final result.
You can get by as a manager without the former, but the latter could cause Ancelotti problems.
How would you solve their problems?
Cortegana: The players have to realise that the margin for error in La Liga is minimal, even though it’s only the beginning of November. In terms of their performances, the key is to pass the ball faster and improve their pressing. The forwards aren’t doing enough off-the-ball work and it often happens in an uncoordinated way, as we saw in the Clasico.
The defenders haven’t been good enough, but it’s not all their fault. It was obvious in the summer that the team needed at least one more player there, especially a centre-back. Now, after Dani Carvajal’s season-ending knee injury, a signing in January is absolutely necessary.
Rai: More than the system, I would look at the minutes Ancelotti is giving each player. I don’t think he has seriously explored the option of making rotations and giving youngsters Arda Guler and Endrick more opportunities. I’m not saying those players will immediately do better, but if you give them more chances they will eventually gain confidence and show their talent. It will also afford other key figures some much-needed rest.
It might also help to use midfielders as defenders to speed up the game — putting Aurelien Tchouameni at centre-back or Eduardo Camavinga at left-back. Especially if Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy are not at their best. That would allow Ancelotti to include more creative players such as Guler, who would be able to link up with Mbappe. The Frenchman often appears isolated up front.
Which player needs to step up?
Cortegana: Most of the players are performing below their true level — and certainly below what we expected of them based on last season.
Mbappe is the obvious answer. His statistics are decent, with eight goals and two assists in 14 appearances, but we haven’t seen the kind of impact in games we expected from arguably the best player in the world — and the highest-paid member of the squad. He still needs time to adapt, but we haven’t seen much progress close to three months into the season.
Mendy isn’t the same player who earned a contract renewal in the summer and Tchouameni continues to struggle. It probably doesn’t help that the latter is playing through foot pain and has been called on as a centre-back as well as in his preferred position in central midfield.
The previously secure centre-back pairing of Militao and Rudiger is unrecognisable this season.
Bellingham has received some criticism, but I see a player who’s been affected by having to take on work not being done by his team-mates and is constantly having to cope with changes of position. He played as a right-winger against Barcelona, for example, but his average position in the game was deeper than that of Madrid’s full-back on that side, Lucas Vazquez, as you can see below.
Rai: Bellingham has felt the effects of Kroos’ retirement and Mbappe’s signing. To try to balance the team, Ancelotti has moved him back to a deeper role and asked him to put in more defensive work — which perhaps explains why he’s still waiting for his first goal this season after a sensational debut year in which he scored 23 times.
But we’re all expecting more from Mbappe. His objective at the beginning of the season was a goal a game: even if he’s currently averaging one every other match, the performances haven’t been good enough.
How would you line up for the Milan game?
Cortegana: Thibaut Courtois, the first-choice goalkeeper, remains out with a groin injury, so you have to keep Andriy Lunin. There’s no natural replacement for Vazquez, even though he looks in need of a rest — Militao could perhaps fill in at right-back, but he’s needed in central defence alongside Tchouameni as Rudiger suffered muscular discomfort after the Barca game and it would be good to rest him, given the big amount of matches ahead.
Luka Modric continues to be one of Madrid’s best players at age 39 and the team needs his touch. Bellingham needs to return to left midfield, where he started for much of last season.
Rai: Lunin is expected to continue in goal. Beyond that, Ancelotti won’t need to rotate much because the players have had 10 days to rest since their previous game. So, Madrid could play with practically all their first-choice outfield players, including Rudiger, who had been struggling but is expected to be recovered. Rodrygo, who missed the Barcelona game with a hamstring injury, also has an outside chance of returning to action.
With that in mind, perhaps it could be a good time to see a new addition to the XI, such as Guler. It’s difficult, but maybe Ancelotti will spring a surprise.
(Top photo: Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
