The puzzle of Carlo Ancelotti at the right-back position

With Lucas Vázquez missing against RB Salzburg, Carlo Ancelotti must solve a new equation at right-back.

The right-back position is an eternal soap opera this season, so much so that the club is on the verge of completing the arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold, but that would not arrive until next summer. In the meantime, Carlo Ancelotti is patching things up. The technician must notably deal with the injury of Dani Carvajal for the rest of the season.

As if that were not enough, Lucas Vázquez, announced understudy of the Spanish international at the start of the season, will be missing against RB Salzburg in the Champions League. The player is suspended for this match.

Carlo Ancelotti will have to tinker and should line up Federico Valverde, according to the daily Relief. The Uruguayan midfielder has already helped out in this position in the past.

Ancelotti trained Federico Valverde as right back before Salzburg

The Valverde option seems all the more likely as the 26-year-old has been training for the task ahead of Wednesday’s match. The other DIY option that Carlo Ancelotti has is that of starting Raúl Asencio.

The lack of depth on the Real Madrid bench in this position this season also led Carlo Ancelotti to test his young central defender. But Relief indicates that Raúl Asencio will be aligned in the axis in order to form the hinge alongside Antonio Rüdiger.

Here too, the tenure of the pure Castilla product is due to problems within the squad. Eder Militão is still injured, while David Alaba, who returned to competition this Sunday after more than a year of absence, is not yet ready to start straight away.

Against RB Salzburg, Federico Valverde could therefore play for the second time this season as a right back after his match at Anfield against Liverpool.

Maxime Blanc