As much as what you see and hear in any narrative, the absence of what is not played an equally large role in making it seductive, intriguing or shocking. When Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal aspirated the sound of the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night, punctuated only by the screams of a few Barcelona fans destined to be hidden in the corner, that silence and everything that comes with it is that few. other shows can replicate it.
The reflection, Carlo Ancelotti he could have taken the moment to close his eyes and appreciate it. Since before the final whistle in El Clasico, he has faced a wall of sound, from the keyboard to the head to the radio station, all indignation and reproach. If you take one conclusion from this week's coverage in Madrid, it has to be that president Florentino Perez is tired. The bespectacled Caesar hit the big red button, and the pressure machines, from which Ancelotti had been freed by any Real Madrid manager, can be heard between the lines.
Ancelotti is not without fault, but to think that Real Madrid would be relieved of all its problems if Xabi Alonso was there instead, is a simplification that will create more problems than it solves. The first thing to say is that, despite Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi being drowned out for most of the match, Ancelotti got it right. His plan worked in the first half.
At the Santiago Bernabeu there was no cigar Carlo Ancelotti. Instead, we had Wojciech Szczesny smoking a cigarette. #FCBarcelonapic.twitter.com/9CO1GftNqj
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 27, 2024
The unorthodox positioning of Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham created three clear-cut chances in the first half for Real Madrid, while Barcelona threatened but only really broke through once. Barcelona could not find the rhythm, nor launch their lethal counters effectively, with Raphinha's runs without service. Although Real Madrid struggled to shoot the backdoor often – they only needed to grab it once, the hungry Madridistas said – it happened three times.
Where Ancelotti was outfoxed, and where Real Madrid was left to chase his tail, was with the entry of Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman changed the dynamic, and while Fermin Lopez functioned as the second attacker, he introduced to empower the Barcelona press, de Jong led the dominance – three against two with Pedri, Marc Casado against to Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde. The failure to react in time cost Real Madrid not only a bloody nose, but pumming which left more lasting effects on the ego.
The criticism for Ancelotti is more than justified, and beyond the Clasico, it is true that they looked vulnerable, without necessarily bringing big enough weapons to the fight to scare many teams into a more conservative approach. He himself admitted that he has not yet worked out the formula for magic. What is missing from that critique is solution.
We will be back as always! We are THE BIGGEST CLUB, you already know that!! pic.twitter.com/IACiwTMLJT
— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) October 27, 2024
Where would Ancelotti have turned to change the style of Real Madrid, what pieces should he have introduced? Luka Modric and Arda Guler could have delayed and disguised their passes better to beat the offside line, but both would have arguably been isolated by Barcelona without the ball, and put either of them to the task of keeping the silence to Alejandro Balde would have been worth as much to Ancelotti. mockery Apart from that, Brahim Diaz is just out for two months. Dani Ceballos is equally familiar with the treatment table, and has only nine starts in the last two seasons.
The former midfielder of Real Betis, alongside Modric, is one of the two players of the team who have shown the ability to direct the traffic in the midfield, before addressing the physical and situational factors. Real Madrid's strategy of not recruiting profiles but the best players has served them well, and better than most other top clubs, but Ancelotti has been one of the reasons it hasn't hindered too much from the Blancos in the last three seasons. Losing Toni Kroos was the tipping point.
What Modric and Kroos have delivered so well to Real Madrid, among a generation of terrific athletes, gifted attackers and lethal competitors, is only referred to in Spain as 'futbol'. Earlier this season, Ancelotti was asked about his repeated claims that he was looking for a faster and more direct side, and his justification was quite simply that “we don't have players for small spaces”, an unusually damning indictment of his own team. While Brahim, Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes could start a bar fight for this statement, all those players are in the final third, and the problem throughout the season, and in the Clasico, is to get the ball to them. Tchouameni, Camavinga and Valverde are blessed with a special quality, but none would be signed by another top team like their point guard.
– Frenkie De Jong Out Of Context (@DeJongOoc) October 30, 2024
It's not just Kroos. While Real Madrid fans were waiting for their trademark comeback last week, either against Lille, or trying to hold on against Atletico Madrid, they were missing an unlikely hero. Nacho Fernandez was far from perfect, but he was a leader, and Dani Carvajal is also out injured now. More than half of Jude Bellingham's goals in La Liga last season came with Joselu Mato on the pitch, and his presence to link the backlines late on is sorely missed. Given Mbappe's best form for France, he still asked for Olivier Giroud ahead of him, even he is likely to frown on the big dark 6'3 German-Spanish left by the former Alaves.
Even the famous fitness coach Antonio Pintus took some heat. His deliberate method of training Real Madrid to have two fitness peaks, one in November-December and one in March-April, has paid clear dividends. In six years through two spells, Los Blancos have collected four Champions League, clear results of all competitors. In the League, it is “only” three, below the expectation of Real Madrid, and a strategy that has met with domestic consistency. Last year, Real Madrid hit that second peak with an advantage in La Liga, supported by an Ancelotti decision.
#RealMadrid are now open to allowing Aurelien Tchouameni to leave the club. (Relief) #LFC pic.twitter.com/RqlePrvWFe
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 31, 2024
The move to use Bellingham as a “binder” or arrive, it was a stroke of genius that covered an irregularity in last season's team. He made Real Madrid much better than they should have been, in a season that started with Barcelona as favorites to retain the title. Quietly, and away from prying ears, Ancelotti could look at Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, or Mikel Arteta and wonder why every other top manager gets at least two players for each role. This year he was left without a number nine, controlling the presence in midfield, or much in the way of a natural width. It doesn't help when Flick invents several successors to Sergio Busquets out of the air at La Masia.
If anything, Ancelotti knew too much for his own good. He lacks leverage in the club offices. His flaws have been exposed this season, but Real Madrid know Ancelotti as well as they know them. And they should know that he didn't hold them accountable the same way that many other top coaches might, for better or worse. None of this matters at the end of the season, or the security of Ancelotti's job, but let the record not be defined by what is not in it.
