Real Madrid: 3 bold predictions after October’s international break
By Sudhir Salvi
Real Madrid head into the second international break of the season on a streak of three matches without victory in what can be termed as a mini-crisis.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side was embarrassed by Sheriff Tiraspol and Espanyol over the previous week in what in truth should have been two routine wins for the men in White. The weekend prior, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Villarreal in what was another unsatisfactory performance.
The Italian would be blessing his fortune and would surely be a happy man given that the international break has come when his team faced a rough patch. Those without duty in the upcoming fortnight and the coaching staff have adequate time to regroup and reflect on what went wrong, and also to work on getting some of the injured players back to optimal fitness.
At the end of October, Real Madrid could have played Athletic Bilbao but owing to the congestion of fixtures of national teams, the meeting has been postponed. They will now face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League before flying off to Barcelona for El Clasico. Here are three bold predictions for Ancelotti and his men when they return to action in two weeks from now.
REAL MADRID WILL BE BETTER DEFENSIVELY
Real Madrid and particularly Carlo Ancelotti are well aware of the fact that the team needs to improve defensively and cannot keep leaking goals, especially like the scrappy ones they conceded in their previous two defeats in as many matches. All the players and the manager have been vocal about the same and it is now high time that things change at the back for the better.
Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy are slated to return and that will be a big boost. Nacho Fernandez will be entirely phased out of the starting eleven and rightly so, owing to his lackluster performances in central defence or at full-back too. Mendy provides an entirely different dimension defensively over Nacho or Miguel Gutierrez, and so too does Carvajal.
Eder Militao and David Alaba have not put a foot wrong and most of the goals conceded this season were as a result of the fullbacks making mistakes or Nacho being erroneous for the better part of this season. Thibaut Courtois will have a much better defensive line ahead of him and one which will make his life easier than it has been all through the course of this season as well.