Carlo Ancelotti’s biggest tactical improvement to Real Madrid

Much has been made of the job Carlo Ancelotti has done in his second stint as Real Madrid manager. While a few Madridistas remain skeptical and concerned regarding the defensive solidity and squad fatigue, most fans have been happy with the job the experienced coach has done so far in the 2021-2022 season.

Ancelotti has helped Vinicius Junior find a new level to his game. Real Madrid lead La Liga with 35 goals scored through 15 matches. Rivals Atletico Madrid, whom Real will face next weekend, are the only other team in the Spanish top flight with more than 25 goals this season.

And Ancelotti has mostly achieved this by giving Real Madrid a huge upgrade in one regard. He has made Los Blancos one of the most dangerous transitional teams in European football. While that has come at the cost of Real’s control of some matches, you cannot argue with the fact that it has been a successful attacking strategy. Los Blancos have scored more goals to this point of the 2021-2022 season than they did to the same point of the 2020-2021 campaign.

Tactics are all about trade-offs. Ancelotti has so much trust in his midfield, especially the main conductor Toni Kroos, that he is willing to cede some of the solidity Zinedine Zidane built in possession in order to manufacture more space in transitions. And this lethality in transition has helped Vinicius Junior find more space and more chances in front of goal, though Vini, of course, has both greatly improved his finishing and his ability to create in tight spaces.

Real Madrid have found space – and results – in a tough La Liga

In La Liga, space is at a premium for Real Madrid. Every team that faces Real will defend cautiously, and that means Los Blancos have to find ways to make their own space. To make their own high-percentage chances and find ways to score against these clogged-up defenses.

Ancelotti knew the assignment before taking the Madrid ball. At times, #CarloBall truly is breathtaking. There are few things Real Madrid fans love more than a fast, powerful, authoritative counterattack that ends in a goal. We have, once again, seen quite a few of those this season, with Vini playing a starring role in that regard.

Of course, there is one thing Madridistas quite obviously love more than that – and anything else, for that matter. That is winning. Since Real Madrid are first in La Liga and first in their Champions League group, Ancelotti’s approach is bringing in the results. Since the team has conceded more goals than anyone else in the top four of the league, the trade-off is a more vulnerable defense. But with Thibaut Courtois balling out and the center backs not far behind in quality, that defense is still only surrendering a goal per game.

Whereas Zidane’s approach was to allow 0 goals in as many games as possible and trust that the offense would find a goal, usually via Karim Benzema up top, Ancelotti has taken a more aggressive approach. He is OK with giving up a goal per game, if it means his team scores twice – if not more. And Real are indeed scoring more than two goals per game in La Liga.

He has mostly achieved this through encouraging greater transition opportunities and taking advantage of Real’s individual quality, speed of passing, team chemistry, and technical quality. These traits make Real efficient and effective enough on the counter to where the natural defensive vulnerabilities are not as much of an issue – often outright covered up by the world-class talents at the back.

Ancelotti’s biggest tactical improvement is paying dividends, and it is the main way he has found success domestically and continentally. If he can get the rotations right and make a few structural tweaks defensively, we could be talking about the 2021-2022 season as Ancelotti’s finest work in a long time.