Carlo Ancelotti frustrated by the attitude of Real Madrid players – the statistics show a difference

Real Madrid have only been beaten once this season, and are only three points behind league leaders Barcelona, ​​but most of the talk has been centered on diagnosing their problems. Los Blancos did not always convince for 90 minutes, and manager Carlo Ancelotti believes that one of the reasons is the attitude of his players.

Thibaut Courtois and Lucas Vazquez both joined Ancelotti to talk about a lack of intensity in their football in the first half, after going into the break two goals down against Dortmund. Ancelotti was asked why there was such a dramatic difference between the first and second periods.

“We were very shy in the first, we had little intensity. With a low block, without pressure, they controlled quite well. We had the chances, two crosses. But we were shy. We showed that we can play with more energy, with more risk We have to apply pressure, we have the ability to do it.”

“There was order, but there was a lack of pressure on the ball. And so, they scored two goals against us without creating much danger. The team was balanced, even in the first half, yes, but that pressure was missing. And we did it in the second.”

Then he was asked what he thought of the formation, and why sometimes Real Madrid, in his words, lacks intensity.

“That the system is not the most important. It is the attitude that the players bring, with any system. If we played with 4-4-2 in the first half, the same thing happens to us. I mean that the most important is the attitude of the players”.

“It's hard to say, I think we have to learn from this second half. With a very high intensity. The goal is to start like this, don't wait until we concede twice before. I think we can't play 90 minutes like we have played the second half, but we have to get a little more balanced.

Those comments are not accidental, and Ancelotti spoke about the attitude that earlier this season was not enough. Relief say that the topic of intensity and attitude can be seen in the statistics. Against Dortmund, the Whites ran about 50 km, five less than their opponents. This figure increased by 6.6 km in the second period, with Real Madrid running slightly more than the Germans (56 km).

Carlo Ancelotti thinks one of #RealMadridThe man's problem is that they are not working as hard as their opponents. I ran six kilometers less than Dortmund in the first half. (Relief) pic.twitter.com/ok2QsmLsvn

— Football España (@footballespana_) October 23, 2024

The same outlet reports that it is not uncommon for Real Madrid's total distance covered to be lower than that of their opponents, and feels that they are not working hard enough. The Italian also pointed out last week that “not everyone is at 100%” physically, which clearly also has an impact. It's not just the distance covered, but on a number of data points, his team lags behind their opponents regularly.

FItness coach Antonio Pintus generally times his program for the players to be at their peak in March or April, so it is not surprising that they are a little far from that currently. All the same, much of the focus on the addition of Kylian Mbappe has been centered on his form with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham in an attacking sense, but without the Frenchman or the Brazilian renowned for his effort and the defensive work off the ball. That may well be where Ancelotti's mind is focused.

For most games, it's unlikely to hurt Los Blancos too much, but for the big matches, Ancelotti will make sure his players can turn up the heat when they need to. Basically, Mbappe replaced Kroos in the line-up, and it is known that the arrival of the 25-year-old would make Real Madrid less fit than with the 34-year-old. Mbappe alone is not responsible for that difference of 5 km only. Ancelotti seems to have a point when he points to the collective effort, which currently his players cannot do, neither mentally nor physically.

Image via Sport.RO