Vinícius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham, Thibault Courtois, Eder Militão, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo and even Arda Güler… In recent weeks, Real Madrid has experienced a real massacre. Numerous physical glitches even causing a crisis situation internally since the senior levels of the Merengues have finally decided to part ways with their head doctor, Dr. Niko Mehic. Arriving six years ago at the club in the Spanish capital, the latter, although close to a certain Florentino Perez, could not resist the new relapse of Arda Güler, he who has not yet played in the every minute of play in the Real Madrid jersey, alternating between the training grounds and the infirmary due to a fragile physical situation.
At a time when Madrid’s squad is being decimated in a worrying manner – as evidenced by the recent injury contracted by Eduardo Camavinga with the Blues (victim of a ruptured external ligament and absent for 8 to 10 weeks) – Carlo Ancelotti will therefore have to face quite a headache. “The schedule is unbearable. The people who set this schedule should notice the problems. The solution would be to reduce the number of matches, but this is impossible if FIFA, UEFA and the leagues cannot find an agreement. If they reduced the number of games, injuries would definitely decrease. This is what I think”, declared the Mister, visibly at the end of all the physical problems affecting Real Madrid. Furthermore, if the Italian technician can always rely on a rich workforce and thus field a more than competitive eleven, the performance of his luxury jokers raises questions. During the trip to Cádiz, counting for the 14th day of La Liga, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach should, of course, be able to count on the return of Jude Belligham, a real X factor for the Merengues at the start of the season, and compensate enough easily the different packages. In goal, Andriy Lunin is, as such, logically expected to start.
Out of fuel for the Madrid bench!
In defense, Daniel Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy would be associated while Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde and Luka Modric could make up the midfield. In front, Jude Bellingham would support, for his part, Rodrygo (or Brahim Diaz) and Joselu. Enough to easily forget the packages of Eduardo Camavinga, Thibault Courtois, Eder Militão or even Aurélien Tchouaméni to name but a few. With such a collective, there is no doubt that the Merengues will present themselves with the necessary weapons to overcome Cadiz, reaching a dangerous 16th place in La Liga. However, and despite this attractive eleven, Carlo Ancelotti does not have much margin. The fault lies with a bench with largely insufficient performance. To illustrate this, let us remember that among the 28 goals scored by Casa Blanca in the championship, none was the work of a substitute. Note, in this regard, that the only teams currently finding themselves in the same situation, without a replacement scorer, are Alavés, fifteenth, and… Cádiz.
A worrying ratio, especially in a season where Real Madrid will once again try to go all the way in all competitions played. A starving report that is all the more distressing at a time when the Merengues are having to deal with numerous injuries. With this in mind, Carlo Ancelotti has already made 75 substitutions since the restart but none of these players called in as reinforcements have been able to find the fault. If Brahim Diaz, usually on the bench, had opened the scoring during his team’s victory (3-0) against Sporting Braga in the Champions League, just before the break, he was an exceptional starter that evening. An unusual situation, especially for a championship leader. Note also that Atlético de Madrid substitutes scored 24.1% of the team’s goals (7 out of 29). For its part, Barça displays a ratio of 24% (6 out of 19).
Currently carried by a Jude Bellingham on another planet (13 goals, 3 offerings), a Vinicius Jr as precious as ever (6 goals, 4 assists) and the significant contribution of the Joselu-Rodrygo duo (10 goals between them) , Real Madrid will still have to find the recipe to make its entire group efficient. On the one hand, to avoid a breakdown in the event of reduced effectiveness of current strong men. An observation particularly noted during the 12th day and the draw (0-0) conceded by Real against Rayo Vallecano where the entries did not change anything in the final result. On the other hand, to allow Carlo Ancelotti to rely on several offensive options in a season which promises to be rich and long. At Nuevo Mirandilla, this Sunday, the Madrid bench will have a first opportunity to put an end to this notable shortage…
