Real Madrid News
Ancelotti worried over team’s performances ahead of critical Champions League clash
Real Madrid kickstarted the new phase of their ongoing season with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo last night, but the performance leaves the management and players with more questions than answers.
For the umpteenth time this season, Los Blancos took points last night with an unconvincing performance where the defence failed miserably. Thibaut Courtois, in many ways, was their only saviour.
Ancelotti is worried
As revealed in a recent update by SPORT, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is seriously worried ahead of the crucial weeks ahead, especially given his team’s form and the tough schedule coming up.
What particularly worries the manager is the upcoming game against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League where the team already took a massive blow in the previous match day, losing to Lille.
The Germans have been in imperious form in the European competition with two wins in as many games as a stellar 7-1 rout of Celtic in their last outing. They are, in fact, the leaders of the competition at the moment.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, dropped to 17th place after their defeat to Lille and are far from their best on the field. Facing Dortmund walking a tightrope is thus not ideal.
The primary concern for the manager is the instability at the back where Eder Militao once again showed signs of physical problems and did not patch up a great partnership with Antonio Rudiger.
Further, Federico Valverde was far from his best last night and the entire defence was in shambles. Had it not been for Courtois, the result could well have been very different.
Losing another game in the UCL will seriously hurt Real Madrid’s chances of finishing in the top eight of the league stage and also impair their momentum ahead of El Clasico. The two upcoming clashes, thus, are must-win games.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
