Real Madrid started the month of March in the strongest way possible, with a dominating win against Real Sociedad, and of course, with an unbelievable comeback win against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. But the happiness was short-lived, as the team lost the Clasico in the worst way possible.
Fifteen days have passed since that fateful night at the Bernabeu, but it has been difficult for the players and the fans to recover from that game. The limitless optimism after the PSG clash has been converted into irreversible pessimism after that loss. And if there’s anyone who needs to take responsibility for that defeat, it’s the Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian manager made everyone happy with his ultra attacking tactics that brought results at the beginning of the season, and extracted the best out of players like Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. Everything was going well until the team’s Supercopa success, as the results overshadowed the problems with Ancelotti. But things have gone downhill since then, with losses to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey, PSG in the first leg, and Barcelona exposing the team’s weaknesses, and the glaring problems in Ancelotti’s coaching.
With a big Champions League match against Chelsea coming up, one can only hope that Don Carlo doesn’t commit the same mistakes he has committed of late. The Italian is currently in quarantine as he had tested positive for COVID-19, and there is a chance of him being unavailable for the Chelsea clash. But he is the one who will be in control of the team, sending instructions to his son, Davide Ancelotti, who’ll be on the sidelines. We can only hope that Don Carlo doesn’t repeat the below mistakes against Chelsea.
1. Going in with a mindset of drawing the match
One of the biggest mistakes Carlo Ancelotti has committed in recent times is his cowardly approach to the first leg vs PSG, in the Champions League Round of 16. He risked the fitness of Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema by starting both of them in the big game, which was acceptable to an extent, considering the importance of the match. But the fact that he wanted his team to go for a draw and not for a win is simply an inexcusable offense.
It was clearly visible in his attitude, and also from his reluctance in making early and attacking substitutions. The team sat back in their own half, hoping to capitalize on any ball lost by PSG in a dangerous position. That lapse of concentration never came, and the team couldn’t succeed in creating their own chances. As a result of Real Madrid surrendering the ball to the home team from time to time, PSG had the mental edge over Real Madrid in that game. Even their mediocre press seemed like a Jurgen Klopp or Hansi Flick’s high octane press, and Los Blancos failed to get past that press.
It was the biggest mistake he had committed that night, and he made PSG look better than what they actually are and made Real Madrid play a lot worse than what they are capable of. Real Madrid is a club that doesn’t have a particular footballing philosophy as its identity. The Merengues’ identity is winning and their alpha mentality.
If Ancelotti wants to win against Chelsea, he shouldn’t commit the mistake of asking Real Madrid to play like a mid-table team and ask them to look to draw the away leg. Even if he doesn’t win the tactical battle, it is important to not lose the mental battle.