Real Madrid’s La Liga title challenge suffered a major blow, as they lost 1-0 away at Mallorca. An own goal from Nacho ended up deciding the result of the game. With several key players missing on the day, Los Blancos looked toothless going forward. They had 20 shots but only one of them was on target, in a very disappointing display to say the least.
With Karim Benzema missing, it came as a major surprise that both Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were left on the bench as well.
Real Madrid seemed to lack some much needed experience on the day. And while Modric and Kroos were brought on as second half substitutes, it turned out to be a little too late.
The result means that Barcelona have the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table, if they are able to defeat Sevilla in their game in hand. And if they are able to do that, then it would very much be their title race to lose from here on forward.
Real Madrid boss explains why Modric and Kroos were dropped
As reported by Real Madrid’s official website, talking about why Modric and Kroos were absent from the starting XI, Ancelotti said:
"“Kroos didn’t start because he’s been out injured after the Valencia game. It was better for us to not take any risks, because we already have a lot of injury problems at the moment. The same with Modric, he played a game less than 72 hours ago and I didn’t want to take any risks. The team performed well in terms of energy, especially in the second half.”"
It is worth pointing out that neither Kroos nor Modric have been at their best after the World Cup break, but their experience of delivering at important moments and overall quality, is something invaluable.
At the same time though, with so many injuries in the squad already, it is not hard to understand why Ancelotti might not have wanted to take any risks. There were just six outfield players available on the bench vs Mallorca. And three of them have barely featured this season, in the form of Mariano Diaz, Jesus Vallejo and Alvaro Odriozola.