Real Madrid: Five players who are knocking on the door for more minutes

MIGUEL GUTIERREZ- LEFT-BACK

I really can’t understand why Carlo Ancelotti has not given Miguel Gutierrez more opportunities. The 20-year-old is brilliant for his age and is a well-balanced left-back who is equally effective on both ends of the pitch.

Despite all the talent and being such a promising player, Gutierrez has only played four games with the first team this season. Three in the league and one in the Champions League against Sheriff that ended in a disappointing loss.

In the three games that Miguel has played in La Liga, he’s started all three of them but has completed only one game. He’s played a total of 260 minutes which is equivalent to 26.3 % of the total minutes that the club has played in the league.

Despite Ferland Mendy’s injury and absence from the first team for the start of the season, Ancelotti preferred using Nacho on many occasions over Miguel Gutierrez mainly for defensive cover. I personally believe that Miguel should have received more opportunities during Mendy’s absence as it would help him build his confidence.

But with Ferland Mendy now back in the squad and performing exceptionally well, the likelihood of Miguel Gutierrez receiving more minutes has drastically fallen. However, Carlo Ancelotti must consider Miguel to be the second option to Mendy ahead of Marcelo.

Although the Brazilian is the most experienced player on the team and is the captain as well, he clearly does not deserve to be the second choice left-back after Ferland Mendy. At the moment, it looks like Marcelo is Ancelotti’s second choice and his reasoning seems to be beyond my understanding.

We can expect more opportunities to come Miguel’s way once the Copa del Rey gets underway. Until then, Miguel Gutierrez has to patiently wait for his chance which could take a long time given Mendy’s impeccable form after recovering from a serious injury.