Nothing is going well at the White House. In just ten days, it cracked, failing to resist the assaults of FC Barcelona, big winner of the clasico (4-0), and AC Milan (3-1) this Tuesday evening in the Champions League. Not to mention its image, crushed by the imbroglio around the Golden Ball not returned to one of its members. The foundations still hold but until when? “We are not good,” admitted coach Carlo Ancelotti in the evening.
An implacable observation that the Italian must now resolve as quickly as possible. Does he even have the means? At Real Madrid, two defeats in a row is a big deal and there are many questions, barely four months after a 15th Champions League won against Borussia Dortmund (2-0).
The role of Kylian Mbappé annoys
The kid from Bondy has finally achieved what he calls “his dream” by joining Real Madrid this summer. A dream that is turning into a nightmare for the moment. Kylian Mbappé has 8 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions but has only scored once in the last six outings, trapped offside against Barça and transparent against Milan.
But it is above all the role of the attacker which raises questions. Installed in number 9 (like his jersey), like a real center forward, the 25-year-old Frenchman finds himself confronted with a harsh reality: “Mbappé is not a real number 9”, asserted Karim Benzema on Monday, encouraging him all the same “not to give up”.
Tuesday evening, Thierry Henry in turn points out on the CBS channel the mistakes of one of his heirs. “We have to give him time but at the same time, he must learn to play like a number 9, have the desire and the will to project himself,” believes the 1998 world champion. A role poorly mastered by Mbappé who is starting to generate frustration among his teammates, according to Thierry Henry, particularly among Jude Bellingham. “The problem is collective,” answers coach Ancelotti.
Carlo Ancelotti in the dock
Being a coaching legend doesn’t protect you when you coach Real Madrid. “The coach has a responsibility,” recalls former player Jorge Valdano, on Movistar +. This is always the case when there is disorder in the team. He is responsible for building this team. And there’s not a lot of balance. »
Pedrag Mijatovic, another former big name of the club, has “the feeling that the team is slipping out of the hands of Carlo Ancelotti”, on the air of Cadena Ser. “After two or three splendid seasons, the team is relaxing, that’s clear,” he adds. I don’t know if Ancelotti has the capacity to react, to start a process again and re-motivate his players. »
“We are not good,” Carlo Ancelotti readily admits. We are not capable of producing effective collective work (…) We must defend better, because it is key. We must look for solutions to have a stronger team. (…) We must improve tactically, it is not an individual problem, but a question of sacrifice, concentration and collective work. » “It’s going to be a long night,” he even admitted. Can it be disembarked? The question will quickly arise if the crisis continues. This is not yet on the agenda.
Is the workforce able to react?
“If we continue like this, it will be complicated to get to the end of the season. » With this sentence, in a press conference, Carlo Ancelotti was talking more about the game than the state of the squad. But it works just as well. Is the group strong enough in quality and number?
Defensively, a priori, the answer is negative and the seven goals conceded in two matches show it. Dani Carvajal’s serious injury (for the season) left a huge void at the right-back position. Volunteer, Lucas Vazquez does not have the same qualities and suffers against opposing attackers. As for the axis of defense, behind Eder Militao and Antonio Rüdiger, it is system D in the prolonged absence of David Alaba.
Another point of tension: the midfield. “The presence of Toni Kroos was therapeutic,” explains Jorge Valdano. He gave the team patience when they needed it and picked up the pace when necessary. Real have lost a lot without Kroos and no one is capable of compensating. » First of all, Aurélien Tchouameni, singled out by a large part of the Madrid specialist press and judged responsible for AC Milan’s first two goals on Tuesday evening. Replaced at halftime, he would even start to annoy internally, according to Relevo.
In short, it’s a crisis at Real and time is running out. With nine points behind (and one game less) on Barça in the league and a sad 17th place (out of 36) provisionally in the Champions League before a hot trip to Liverpoolthe fear of the white season is already resonating in the heads of supporters.
