Real Madrid News
Carlo Ancelotti ‘extremely’ worried about 31-year-old forward’s poor form
Eden Hazard’s performance against fourth-tier club Cacereno has put Carlo Ancelotti under immense pressure.
The Italian manager kept his word and gave the Belgian a chance but as it turns out, the attacker failed to live up to the expectations and lasted a mere 68 minutes. And it has left the manager ‘extremely’ worried reports AS.
The 31-year-old recorded zero attempted dribbles, did not have a go at goal, lost the ball five times and managed just 24 touches, the lowest of any Real Madrid forward.
These are the statistics that are certain to worry any manager and Ancelotti is no different. The manager thought he could count on him during the packed schedule this month, but the player has only disappointed the main man.
Against Cacereno, the 31-year-old had most of his touches on the left side of the field and almost every single touch was outside the box. Hazard’s substitution saw Rodrygo moving to left and it only took the Brazilian a minute to score the winner for his team.
Interestingly enough, speaking after the game, Ancelotti did not say a lot against Hazard, but minced a lot about the state of the pitch.
“You can’t play football,” Ancelotti said. “For me, it’s not football, it’s another sport. It’s nice because small teams can fight and compete with bigger teams.
“It’s good for the fans, but the fans also want to see beautiful matches.
About Hazard, he noted, “I liked [Hazard]. It’s difficult to evaluate players individually, it was impossible to play. Smaller players like Hazard or Rodrygo suffer more, but he delivered.”
It must be noted that Hazard’s ongoing contract with Real Madrid runs until 2024, but he is more likely to leave the team before that. In fact, it is highly anticipated that he will be sold in summer itself.
Given the performance he delivered against the fourth-tier side of Spanish football, one can suspect that it is going to be the final roll of the dice.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho talks Carlos Espi, Diomande, Guler, Tchouameni, Atletico Madrid after Elche 2-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.
Carlos Espi’s injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.
For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.
“When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it’s dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it’s not pleasant.
“The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They’re fun,” he began saying.
Mourinho knows what is going wrong
The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.
Real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don’t. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.
“If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.
“If we have periods where we’re at our best and others where we’re not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it’s a concern. But we won.”
The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho’s concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.
Carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.
“He’s a guy who works hard and is very motivated,” Mourinho said.
He then added, “He’s up against a player who’s in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we’re well aware of that.”
Madrid derby comes at a delicate moment
Next up is Atletico Madrid, and Mourinho’s attention is already turning towards the derby.
Rather than focusing on the opposition, he remains concerned about his own side’s ability to manage matches.
“The only explanation I can find is that we can’t keep going like this. We misjudged the opportunities we had, and once they score a goal, everything changes,” explained the Real Madrid coach.
Meanwhile, there were positives to take from individual performances, as Mourinho praised Yan Diomande’s development after another energetic outing.
“He’s improving. Physically, you can tell he has more minutes under his belt. He has a great work ethic and intelligence—he’s done a great job.”
Mourinho refuses to call Guler indispensable
Arda Guler’s importance was also questioned after another fantastic performance, but Mourinho rejected the idea that any player is beyond replacement.
“No, no one is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the substitutions; Vini did a great job on defence, but he was very tired.
“And Arda, who was playing in the number 10 position, was also losing intensity.
“I brought in a fresh Jude and Brahim when we were down 0-2, but I could sense we were losing control. That’s how it goes for us. And then, we brought in the heavy artillery and turned it around.”
Mourinho was also pleased with Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde during Madrid’s strongest spells.
“When the team was playing well, he and Valverde were playing well. They broke through the pressure easily, with skill.
“But the game had two phases—or rather three: one until it was 0–2, another until it was 2–2, and another until the end. They did a good job,” he concluded.
Source: AS
