Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Carlo Ancelotti’s three difficulties following El Clasico defeat- The Blancos have been suffering recently, and Thursday was the latest concerning example.
HIGHLIGHTS
- This Sunday, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 4-0 in El Clasico held at the Bernabeu.
- Barcelona controlled throughout, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring a brace.
- Carlo Ancelotti accepted responsibility for Los Blancos’ ‘unrecognisable’ performance.
- After moving up to third place in La Liga, Xavi claimed his Barcelona team is “like family.”
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Carlo Ancelotti‘s three difficulties following El Clasico defeat
Something is wrong with Real Madrid after being held without the need for a goal scoring opportunity in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarterfinal loss to rivals Barcelona. The Blancos, who were beaten 1-0, had just recently won La Liga as well as the Champions League. In football, though, a season is all it takes to bring about a change, especially when stars like Casemiro leave the team.
Following the high of beating Liverpool in the Champions League, the Real Madrid drew with a 10-man Atletico Madrid side before falling to Barcelona at home, causing it to seem that the Liverpool game was actually masking Real Madrid’s problems rather than signalling that the club is where they want to be. Real Madrid have turned into a vulnerable side less than a month after losing to Mallorca, but really what are the main issues hurting the team?
Following are their three main concerns:
Eduardo Camavinga isn’t doing well in the centre.
Camavinga was among the most sought-after young prospects in the world when he was hired by Real Madrid from Rennes. He has been capable of learning from the talents of Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Luka Modric as a central midfielder that can be moulded into a defensive midfielder or even a box-to-box midfielder. It doesn’t get any more perfect than that. Yet, in a year when Carlo Ancelotti has relied on Camavinga, he has come short at crucial occasions in matches.
Camavinga’s turnover contributed to Franck Kessie’s attempt being saved off of Militao for Barcelona’s solitary goal, and Camavinga surrendering the ball to initiate a counter-attack has grown to be too regular for Real Madrid. He’s been OK in defence, where his work rate and possession abilities have helped keep Real Madrid balanced, but when Ancelotti requires midfielders, Camavinga had not been able to rise to the occasion.
Experience might benefit him here, but as with Luka Jovic being moved to Fiorentina, time is of the essence in Madrid.
Vinicius Jr. can be one-dimensional at times.
Barcelona’s strategy succeeded since they were not concerned about Real Madrid assaulting them through the middle of the pitch. No one was sprinting through the middle for Karim Benzema to target with his great passing if he dropped deep to take up the ball.
Viniciu Jr. is a player who may be turned to if teams step up, but with Barcelona playing deep to keep stuff ahead of them, the game lacked a signature. Vini Jr. sprints into space to scare the enemy. Instead, he spent the majority of the game alone on the wing, unable to impact the game.
Only two of his six shots into the box were accurate, and he merely took one shot that was not on target. Vini Jr. may be one of the most exciting players in the world on his day, but if he is to lead Real Madrid, especially after Benzema retires, he must improve his consistency. Vini Jr. demonstrated what he’s capable of with two goals as well as an assist against Liverpool, but Madrid needs that player in big games such as this if they want to claim an important trophy this season.
They got it from him in the final of the Champions League last year, but they’ll require even more to help things turn around in the Copa del Rey.
Depth is becoming increasingly important.
Real Madrid used to have one of the deepest teams in the world, but that hasn’t been the case this season. While continuing to spend money, it feels inappropriate to refer to this group as “Galacticos” when just 13 players have played and over 1000 league minutes. It appears that Ancelotti does not trust his depth players, which has a lot to do with Eden Hazard’s fitness. When Benzema got injured at the start of the season, the Belgian got given minutes to test whether he could fill in as a false nine. He couldn’t do it. He’s now out of the lineup, and the team is critically weak up front.
Ancelotti has now resorted to young players, such as 18-year-old Alvaro Munoz, who scored the equaliser against Atletico Madrid, because they have the motivation to keep pushing in all of these games. Yet, with talents like Lucas Vazquez as well as Hazard on the roster, Ancelotti is dealing with one hand on the wheel.
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