Real Madrid News
Ancelotti could turn to Real Madrid Castilla duo after Militao’s injury – report
Real Madrid are clearly far from their best moment. The club lost Thibaut Courtois to an unfortunate ACL tear earlier this week before Eder Militao suffered a similar fate in the team’s opening league clash against Athletic Club.
Considering the poor prognosis of a cruciate ligament rupture, both players are expected to miss a major part of the ongoing season.
Los Blancos are close to signing Kepa Arrizabalaga as a replacement for the Belgian superstar but are unclear on their next move to replace the injured centre-back.
Reports in the last 24 hours have linked former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos with a return to the club as a stand-in for Militao.
However, Tomas Gonzalez-Martin quashes those rumours and states that the Spanish legend is not on the club’s agenda.
Real Madrid believe in Castilla
The journalist goes on to reveal that the management do not wish to splurge cash on a new centre-back signing this summer. Instead, they place their faith in the Castilla setup.
Alvaro Carrillo and Rafel Obrador are two players from the academy setup who Carlo Ancelotti sees as potential options to play at centre-back.
Carrillo as a 21-year-old centre-half who has made more than 50 appearances for Raul Gonzalez’s Castilla outfit and has shown positive signs.
As for Obrador, the youngster is a left-back primarily but the possibility of deploying Ferland Mendy in central defence cannot be ruled out, which could lead to the 19-year-old being called up to cover for Fran Garcia.
The department is still in safe hands
Militao was the top-placed candidate on Ancelotti’s pecking order for the defence this season. However, the manager still have three solid options to cover the void.
David Alaba and Antonino Rudiger are thus expected to start together in the coming games and it will be interesting to see their chemistry on the field.
The coach also has the club captain Nacho Fernandez as a reliable backup option if the need arises. The aforementioned options from the Castilla will only be considered in the unexpected event that the Merengues lose two more starting centre-backs.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid retain total confidence in Carlo Ancelotti despite derby disaster – report
Sunday night was a disappointing one for Real Madrid as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby at the Civitas Metropolitano.
The Merengues suffered their first defeat of the 2023/24 season as former striker Alvaro Morata scored a brace for the Rojiblancos while Antoine Griezmann was also on target.
Real Madrid might be feeling aggrieved by some of the calls made by the referee on the night but they were just not good enough to secure all three points at the Metropolitano.
Real Madrid retain full confidence in Ancelotti
Despite the disappointing performance and outcome, Real Madrid retain their full and total confidence in manager Carlo Ancelotti, reports Jose Felix Diaz (via RM4Arab).
There had been question marks about the team selection made by the manager for the derby against Atletico Madrid.
After all, the Italian opted to bench Joselu from the starting XI to bring in Luka Modric and shift the tactics.
Aurelien Tchouameni was also left out despite being one of the team’s strongest performers this season with Toni Kroos being preferred.
The Real Madrid hierarchy wishes for the manager to trust the next-gen midfield for the big games but Ancelotti’s selection indicated that he is still not ready to do so.
Despite there being some differences, the board retains full confidence in Ancelotti.
Ancelotti accepts blame for defeat
It was a disappointing performance from Real Madrid in their biggest test of the 2023/24 season so far and speaking after the match, manager Ancelotti accepted the blame for the outcome.
“Maybe I could have done it better. It’s pretty clear. When the team doesn’t do what it has to do, it’s my responsibility. It’s my fault,” Ancelotti said.
With the game done and dusted, Real Madrid now turn their focus towards producing a strong comeback when they face Las Palmas later this week.
