While Real Madrid were away at the Club World Cup, Barcelona had managed to go 11 points clear at the top of the La Liga table. Carlo Ancelotti’s side had a game in hand though and they won it comfortably, by a 4-0 scoreline, in order to cut the lead back down to eight. Karim Benzema scored twice from the penalty spot, while Marco Asensio and Luka Modric found the back of the net as well.
One interesting decision that Ancelotti made on the day was leaving Aurelien Tchouameni out of the starting XI. He was brought on as a substitute at around the 70-minute mark.
Tchouameni has pretty much been an undroppable player for Real Madrid, ever since arriving in the summer from AS Monaco while Casemiro left for Manchester United. Other than fitness-related matters, there have rarely been occasions when the Frenchman has not started.
Tchouameni has justified his selection as well, with some top class performances. But in recent weeks, he has drawn some criticism and has not looked as good after the World Cup break, as has been the case with quite a few of Real Madrid’s players to be very honest.
Real Madrid boss explains why Tchouameni was dropped from starting XI
As reported by SPORT, Ancelotti explained the decision to not start Tchouameni as he said:
"“I have given rest to Tchouameni. I wanted to bring in fresher players with Camavinga, Valverde, Ceballos… Nothing special. He is in a better condition right now. For this match I put Camavinga and the next one Tchouameni will play.”"
Thus, it looks like Tchouameni was just given some rest on the day and his absence did not hurt Real Madrid particularly. Camavinga looked good in that role as well.
There is no doubt that Tchouameni is a big part of Real Madrid’s present as well as their future. He has not looked at his best in recent times though and as a result, giving him some rest is not a bad idea. At the same time, being dropped from the starting XI could act as a bit of a wake up call as well, in case he needs it.