Real Madrid lost 3-1 to AC Milan on Matchday 4 of the Champions League.
Real Madrid, with the reception of AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu, of Borussia Dortmund, had the opportunity to revive after the 4-0 slap suffered during the Clasico. Instead of moving forward, Ancelotti's men showed an even more worrying face and were defeated 3-1 by goals from Thiaw (12th), Morata (39th) and Reijnders (73rd) against an equalizer of Vinicius Jr. (23ᵉ).
Real Madrid starters
Andriy Lunin (4/10) : the Real Madrid goalkeeper made some great saves but cannot concede the third goal in such a way. He was let go by his defense before letting them in turn on Reijnders' goal.
Lucas Vázquez (2/10) : dominated by Rafael Leao, Lucas Vázquez simply reminded that he is not a professional right-back. This kind of opposition is just too strong for him and his defensive generosity prevents him from going up offensively.
Éder Militão (2/10) : a glaring lack of aggressiveness in his way of defending. It makes you wonder if he's really 100%, he almost gives the impression of being afraid to go to a duel.
Antonio Rüdiger (4/10) : as against Stuttgart, he tried to sound the revolt with his goal, but an offside prevented him from doing so. Defensively, he is the least bad of the four but he was not able to plug all the gaps.
Ferland Mendy (2/10) : no contested duel, no forward pass. A ghost on his left side, logically replaced by Fran Garcia, who at least showed envy.
Aurélien Tchouaméni (1/10) : 100% of duels won and 23 successful passes out of 24. Well, now that we have finished showing off his useless stats, we will be able to talk about the case of Tchouaméni, who was just as successful. A questioning of his status and his role is necessary for Real Madrid to move forward again. His offensive and defensive passivity transforms him into dead weight on the pitch, and Ancelotti finally seems to have understood that this is no longer possible by taking him out at half-time.
Federico Valverde (3/10) : the man in the shadows of Real Madrid remained lurking in the shadows during this match. Sent to the right to cover Hernandez's climbs and help Vazquez against Leao, he was unable to be effective in this role.
Luka Modrić (2/10) : Ancelotti trusted him for this big match but the legend was unable to respond. In a role as technical leader in the axis, he just didn't carry any weight. The impact made by Camavinga upon his entry shows what he lacks to weigh.
Jude Bellingham (3/10) : we feel that he has been suffering from a sort of discomfort for a few matches but that does not justify the level of his performances. Replaced on the left of the 4-4-2, he simply did not shine. The 2024/25 Bellingham is simply missing something at the moment.
Vinicius Jr. (5/10) : hard to blame the Brazilian this evening who provokes and scores his penalty with class. He never stopped trying and creating for his partners, while being one of the few with the right attitude.
Kylian Mbappé (4/10) : a bit like Vinicius, the Frenchman tried, tried and tried again. He still lacks success but in this match, the mentality, the attitude and the choices are the right ones.
Coach's note:
Carlo Ancelotti (1/10) : some Real Madrid players must question themselves this evening, but the experienced Ancelotti should not be spared from this introspection. The choice to align Modric is a mistake. But above all, he needed another 45 minutes to realize that the immunity offered to Tchouaméni no longer makes sense. Valverde's exit at half-time ended up unbalancing his team and even if “football belongs to the players”, this defeat also belongs to him.
Real Madrid substitutes
Edward Camavinga (entered in the 45th minute in place of Tchouaméni) 4/10 : entered to solve a host of problems, Camavinga was not enough despite a good impact in the middle.
Brahim Diaz (entered in the 45th minute in place of Valverde) 3/10 : he missed a goal when he came in to make the difference.
Dani Ceballos (entered in the 63rd minute in place of Modric) 4/10 : Bringing a player who is not used to playing into a dysfunctional team doesn't do anything good.
Rodrygo (entered in the 72nd minute instead of Bellingham) : Not rated.
Francis Garcia (entered in the 72nd minute in place of Mendy) : Not rated.
