Real Madrid News
Real Madrid quartet expected to be available for Valladolid clash after World Cup exit
Over the past couple of days, as many as four Real Madrid players ended up getting eliminated from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
On Thursday, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois crashed out of the competition following Belgium’s goalless draw against Croatia. On the same night, Antonio Rudiger’s Germany were also out of the tournament despite winning their game versus Costa Rica.
Meanwhile, last night saw Federico Valverde’s Uruguay get eliminated from the World Cup as well, even though they won their game against Ghana.
And according to MARCA, the Real Madrid quartet will have a short holiday following their World Cup exits before they rejoin training with the club.
Furthermore, it is expected that all four players will be ready to face Real Valladolid on December 30 when Los Blancos resume their La Liga campaign.
Carlo Ancelotti has already reconvened training for players who did not travel to the World Cup, starting from December 1.
The likes of Toni Kroos, Nacho Fernandez, Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Odriozola, and Dani Ceballos restarted training earlier this week to be ready for the resumption of the season.
David Alaba and Karim Benzema have been given a few days of additional leave following their international excursions and are expected to join the rest of the team shortly.
And soon after they will be joined by the aforementioned quartet of Rudiger, Valverde, Hazard and Courtois, who are now expected to be ready in time to face Real Valladolid.
Their availability for the game, in particular Valverde and Courtois, who have been in top form, will come as a boost for Ancelotti and Real Madrid, considering that they are already trailing Barcelona in the La Liga standings and cannot afford any slip-ups.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid locker room angry with Barcelona midfielder’s ‘unsportsmanlike’ behaviour – report
While the evident frustration among the Real Madrid players was quite visible following the recent 1-2 defeat against Barcelona, the feeling of vexation was not really limited on the field.
Journalist Mario Cortegana, while writing for The Athletic, has confirmed that once the players got into the dressing room, the environment had an air of anger and frustration.
Players from each team had a go at each other right till the end, especially the likes of Dani Carvajal and Arnau Tenas, who had to be separated by several members from both teams.
Interestingly, before the aforementioned incident, Barcelona midfielder Gavi was already causing some trouble on the field. The youngster did not shy away from putting his body on the line throughout the game and it annoyed Madrid players to the extreme.
First, he pushed Carvajal in one incident and after that, he entangled himself in an off-the-ball clash with Dani Ceballos. The Madrid midfielder first had a collision with Robert Lewandowski and as the game moved on, Gavi made note of the incident.
During the run of play, Gavi pushed Ceballos with his shoulder and it did not settle well with the Madrid players and manager Carlo Ancelotti. The players and the manager were disturbed by Gavi’s behaviour and considered it ‘unsportsmanlike’.
On the other hand, there was frustration involving refereeing decisions as well. It must be remembered that in the 82nd minute, Marco Asensio found the back of the net to send the Madrid fans into a frenzy.
The celebration, however, was cut short as VAR disallowed the goal for an extremely tight offside. “We are sad, frustrated,” a dressing room source told The Athletic. “What happened? A guy looking at a TV in Madrid has decided La Liga.”
Ancelotti, on his part, said: “The disallowed goal? I don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m leaving with this doubt. If the VAR is sure.”
“I leave this match very proud. I don’t think we deserved to lose today,” he added.
