Real Madrid News
Carlo Ancelotti planning ‘new’ tactics for Eden Hazard and Rodrygo next season
Real Madrid cruised through most of last season with ease, steamrolling through competition in La Liga, and making miraculous comebacks in the Champions League.
Toni Kroos was unplayable during the first half of the campaign, with Luka Modric carrying the midfield through most of their UCL games. Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga acted as more than able deputies, while Nacho did not put a foot wrong as the first-choice CB backup.
Carlo Ancelotti’s biggest, and probably only problem through the season was not having an ideal backup for Karim Benzema. But if reports from El Chiringuito are to be believed, the Italian has a sound plan to escape that worry.
He intends to use Eden Hazard and Rodrygo in a false 9 capacity to cover for Benzema next season.
Now that Luka Jovic has moved to Fiorentina and Gareth Bale to Los Angeles, Ancelotti just has Mariano Diaz as a natural striker. And with all due respect, he is probably not at the level Madrid expect or want.
Ancelotti actually tried using a false 9 once last season, against Barcelona no less. With the Frenchman injured, he deployed Luka Modric in that capacity hoping to create overloads in the midfield.
It did not quite work out for him as planned, though, as Xavi’s side ran riots at the Santiago Bernabeu, leaving him with a 0-4 win.
Reports last week claimed that Hazard had requested Ancelotti to switch his position next season, hoping for a role more ‘central’ role.
Madrid Universal’s take
It makes sense that Ancelotti might want to use Hazard and Rodrygo as backups to Benzema next season.
Not only do both of them have experience playing in a role similar to that — Hazard under Conte, and Rodrygo at Santos —, but their first-choice role in the team – the left-wing – is pretty much property of Vinicius Jr.
They cannot replicate Benzema’s prowess in the penalty area, but their tactical and technical prowess allows them to act as the perfect outlets between midfield and attack to progress the attack.
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
