After months of being criticized by Real Madrid fans and producing inconsistent results, Carlo Ancelotti is coming off his two best managing performances of 2022 – perhaps even the entire season.
He got all of his big decisions spot-on against Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, living up to his reputation as one of the competition’s finest managers – the man who brought Milan glory twice and Los Blancos La Decima. Ancelotti start Fede Valverde, whom he frustratingly snubbed in past matches. He brought in Eduardo Camavinga for Toni Kroos when the team needed more defense. And he set the team up so that they would get transition opportunities without sitting too far deep or being vulnerable to the press or runs into the channels from Chelsea.
So Ancelotti rectified his struggles against Barcelona and PSG in the big matches. Even though the second PSG matchup was also a 3-1 win for the Merengues – courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat trick – Los Blancos were horrible in the first half. But against Chelsea, it was a different story. Carlo learning from his mistake of starting Marco Asensio in both PSG matches helped, too.
To follow that Champions League performance up, Carlo turned in another top-tier coaching display against a different kind of opponent in Getafe. While Getafe is the kind of team Real should be beating easily, the reality is that Madrid have struggled against lower-level teams in LaLiga, including this season under Ancelotti despite the increase in goals. Recall that Ancelotti did a poor job the first time Real faced Getafe this season, as Los Merengues sputtered to a lifeless, 1-0 loss.
Carlo Ancelotti is no longer holding Real Madrid back
Saturday night at the Bernabeu was a different story. Carlo Ancelotti gave Toni Kroos and Luka Modric rest, trusting Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga with starts – something he did not do in the past. Those two players were among the standouts in a dominant, professional display on both ends of the pitch, as Real Madrid were never threatened in their 2-0 home win over their local LaLiga rivals.
In both matches, Ancelotti did things he had not done in previous defeats, with Madridistas celebrating the experienced manager turning over a new leaf to his stubborn ways. He gave Fede and Camavinga meaningful minutes. He did not trust Asensio. He made subs when needed – and the right subs at the right time. And most of all, he had the team playing aggressive football when needed offensively and disciplined defense.
There are still things for Real Madrid to work on, such as their marking inside the penalty box. But by and large, they look like a totally different team these past two matches as compared to many of their fixtures in 2022, even wins like last weekend’s 2-1 squeak past Celta Vigo at Balaidos.
The players were always capable of – if not expected to – play at this high of a level each week. It’s just that, yes, Don Carlo was holding them back with his poor lineup selections, cowardly tactics, and fatiguing non-rotation policy.
Real Madrid looked like a different team in the past two matches, though, principally, they were the same in terms of their playing style and approach. It’s just that the issues of fatigue, inconsistency, and lack of intensity were corrected by a better managerial approach that put the XI on the pitch in a position to succeed.
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Heading into the final seven matches of LaLiga and the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Madridistas can finally have renewed confidence in Ancelotti. It seems as if he has finally realized the error of his ways and is taking steps to make sure he learns from his mistakes as a leader. And Real Madrid will be a much, much better team for it.