Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti is making another miscalculation
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has come under fire in recent weeks for poor lineup selections, and his lack of rotations are clearly catching up to the team. Not only have key players looked tired recently, but now Toni Kroos is injured and very likely out of the all-important second leg against PSG.
If you thought Ancelotti would start making better decisions, though, then you thought wrong. Because he is quietly making another miscalculation when it comes to putting faith in a player as a regular in the XI.
According to Sergio Lopez de Vicente of AS, Marco Asensio is now a weekly starter in Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid XI. Asensio is “the guy” on the right wing and has seemingly secured status as an undisputed starter. The so-called “third musketeer” to Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema.
Asensio has done some good things for Madrid this season. He has made strides under Ancelotti after a woeful 2020-2021 season. The forward is third on the team in goals, with a few being match-winners. Asensio is capable of the spectacular, and Real Madrid have indeed benefited from that lovely left foot of his.
Marco Asensio is too limited to be relied on as a weekly starter
But as we have already said, Asensio should not be the undisputed starter. A player who performed as poorly as Asensio did in the Champions League knockout rounds against PSG cannot be a sure-fire starter. A sure-fire starter at a club of Madrid’s status does not put in that lethargic of a performance against a big opponent. A sure-fire starter at Madrid does not shy away from the ball or fail to create for teammates in this manner.
Real Madrid have other options. They are flawed, but so is Asensio. Eden Hazard, Isco, Rodrygo Goes, and Gareth Bale have all had their moments this season. They are also much less likely to ghost than Asensio, though they do not have Asensio’s production or scoring upside. Another player, Fede Valverde, can play this position if Madrid must go more defensive.
I do not mean to hate on Asensio. He is who he is. A role player who has his “moments”. But he is not a dominant option. Therefore, Ancelotti cannot put too much faith in him at the expense of other players. If there is any position where rotations, subs, and situational calls based on tactics need to be made, then it is the right wing. Asensio is no Vinicius or Benzema. He is no superstar. He is not undisputed.
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If Ancelotti thinks this, he is making a mistake and will regret it against better opponents that do not give Asensio shooting space or that require Asensio to show the all-around game that he truly does not possess. But as the season has worn on, it seems as if Ancelotti’s judgment is getting exposed more and more as someone who is missing the nuances of the modern game.