Real Madrid are in trouble. Corrected at home by Barça the previous week and deprived of a match this weekend due to the natural disaster in Valencia, the Madrid club is now nine points behind the Blaugrana at the top of La Liga. And it’s barely better in the Champions League where the Merengue are in 12the place with two victories and one defeat on the clock.
The situation is all the more worrying for the Madrid giant as the victories achieved by Carlo Ancelotti’s men are most often sluggish, with Real struggling to impose its game. And for the Italian technician, the main problem for his team is defensive order. However, its defenders are not necessarily to blame.
Kylian Mbappé doesn’t run enough
After examining the performances of his players in detail, it appeared that the first pressing was failing. And not surprisingly, Kylian Mbappé is no stranger to this problem. His lack of defensive investment appears more and more obvious and the sinking of Real against Barça is a perfect illustration since the Bondynois only ran 8km. That’s almost two kilometers less than his teammates on average.
However, according to Revelo, the former midfielder does not wish to be too demanding in this area with the French world champion, fearing that too much effort in terms of pressing will harm his performance in front of goal, already subject to deposit. And while Jude Bellingham is already forced to multiply in midfield to plug the gaps, which has considerably reduced his offensive contribution, Carlo Ancelotti would also consider calling on Vinicius.
The Madrid coach’s idea would be to reverse the positioning of the Brazilian and the French in the defensive phases. The native of Rio would thus be responsible for putting pressure on the goalkeeper and the central defenders while the former Monegasque should only hinder the right side, or even the passing lines between the central hinge and the midfielder. A less demanding job, according to Carlo Ancelotti.
