Real Madrid were able to get back to winning ways on Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabeu against Champions League contenders Athletic Club, but it wasn't a pretty win, with Real struggling to break down the Lions' impressive low-mid block. It took a heroic volleyed effort from leader Fede Valverde in the game's waning minutes to break the deadlock, and without that goal, it would have likely been game over for Real Madrid in the title race.
Carlo Ancelotti deployed a 4-4-2 in that game without a suspended Kylian Mbappe, bringing back the formation that helped Real Madrid win the Champions League last season. And although Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes struggled to get into a rhythm and were often isolated up top, things did get better for Real in the second stanza when Endrick entered the fray.
After the game, Carlo admitted to reporters that the 4-4-2 diamond is actually his favorite formation, via Fabrizio Romano, and there are now reports stating that the Italian manager will try to use this formation to finally get a result against Barcelona this season.
So let's take a look at the best way Real Madrid can line up in a Carlo Ancelotti 4-4-2 diamond system before the 2024/25 season ends - and with two titles still on the line.
GK Thibaut Courtois
It is a no-brainer. Courtois is the best goalkeeper in the world. He makes the lineup for any club in the world. There is not much I have to write about to convince anyone why he deserves this place.
LB Ferland Mendy
Fran Garcia has been getting more starts at left back, but for this formation, I'd like to go with Ferland Mendy. That will give more defensive stability and allow the left-sided midfielder, whether that is Eduardo Camavinga or Dani Ceballos (or even Rodrygo Goes), to shuttle up the pitch more aggressively in overlap or underlapping support of Vinicius Junior (or Kylian Mbappe) as the left-sided forward.
I think Mendy is easy to malign too much, because while it is clear that he should not be the regular starting left back after this season, there is a way in which he is useful. And starting him at left back can create an unbalanced formation wherein Mendy tucks in defensively as a left-sided center back in possession and allows Fede Valverde on the right side to move up into the midfield.
CB Antonio Rudiger
Antonio Rudiger pretty much only starts by default because I don't trust Aurelien Tchouameni at center back after watching what he did at the position in the winter months.
CB Raul Asencio
Raul Asencio is easily Real's best center back right now and a must-start. Even though this is just his first season as a senior player, he's also the best center back at picking out those long passes, which is very important in this two-headed system.
RB Fede Valverde
In a 4-4-2, Lucas Vazquez's deficiencies are more easily masked, and I'd rather see Fede Valverde further up the pitch in midfield than in defense so that he has more opportunities to do things like he did against Athletic Club to win the game.
That said, I believe even more strongly in playing the best players possible in your XI, and that's only achieved by phasing Vazquez out of the lineup completely at this point. Valverde is excellent at so many things, right back included, and I think with Mendy in this system, you can give Fede more license to be a midfielder, which, in turn, can allow Rodrygo to tuck in as a secondary playmaker alongside Jude Bellingham.
DM Aurelien Tchouameni
Aurelien Tchouameni is so much better when you don't ask him to do too much and simply allow him to sit deep, control play, read the game, and sit in a defensive block. He can be almost a third or fourth center back when in and out of possession, sitting deeper and facilitating play and circulating of the ball, seeing the whole pitch and finding the runs of the forwards. The additional defensive stability in this system means a lot.
LM Eduardo Camavinga
To me, Dani Ceballos is the superior technical player and passer, and I love the energy he provides going forward. But even though I wish Eduardo Camavinga developed his offensive game more under Carlo Ancelotti, it's still of my opinion that he is the better overall player than Ceballos.
What Camavinga gives you as a tackler and ball-winner is so unique to any other player in European football, and I think Real Madrid have to harness that. Camavinga has a clutch gene, too, and I like him as a supporting piece to Vinicius Junior, which is easier to achieve in a wide midfield role in a 4-4-2 rather than as a left back in a 4-3-3, where Cama's understandable positioning deficiencies can be exploited by the opponent.
RM Rodrygo Goes
Rodrygo Goes has the work rate and willingness to play defense that can make him a successful right midfielder in a 4-4-2, but, ideally, with Mendy tucking in as a center back and Fede coming up wide in midfield, that gives Rodrygo more opportunities to play as a winger and playmaking hybrid, more often coming inside to support Kylian Mbappe as a second striker.
That will open up more opportunities for Rodrygo to interchange and perform one-twos with Bellingham and Mbappe centrally, and that's where Rodrygo is best as a facilitator. He's going to be too isolated as a forward in a 4-4-2, and he plays too far from the action in a 4-3-3 without enough defensive cover. In this system, he can be covered by both Fede and Asencio without that leaving gaps in central defense.
AM Jude Bellingham
Bellingham is almost like a hybrid playmaker and striker in this system. Real Madrid have missed out on his all-around, box-to-box play when he plays as a 10, but with Tchouameni holding down the fort and Fede and Camavinga play box-to-box roles with essentially three center backs behind them, Jude doesn't have to feel as guilty about playing forward.
In fact, that's what Bellingham will need to do, as he will be the central pivot point, using his body to hold play up and give time for the two forwards in front of him to come centrally and receive the return pass if they need to. He can also charge into the box and get on the end of crosses. Bellingham was one of the Pichichi race leaders in 2023/24 as an attacking midfielder precisely because of his ability to take on this goal-scoring responsibility in the diamond system without a true No. 9 ahead of him.
LF Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe will ideally split time on the left side of the attack so that Endrick can get starts as more of a 9 than a winger, but Vinicius is a better fit on the left side because he is more adept at creating chances for others than Mbappe due to his playing style.
There's no question that Vini is one of the world's best at creating magic out of nothing, and the best way to harness that one-on-one ability is on the wing. In this system, Mbappe and Vinicius hav more space to avoid getting in each other's way, while Vini will have Bellingham and Camavinga and then Mbappe will have Rodrygo and Fede as their talented get out of jail free cards if they need to abort a solo mission against the defense.
RF Kylian Mbappe
Endrick has a sharp left foot and is a more ideal fit on the right side of the formation, but Mbappe is the best player at this stage and has to be in the lineup. Mbappe likes coming off the left more, but I think his numbers and the team will benefit if he lets Vinicius Junior do that work with Camavinga on the left flank while he focuses on getting into scoring positions and playing around the quartet of Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo, and Fede in and around the penalty area.
Mbappe has to cede the ball in order to score more goals if that's what he wants, just as Cristiano Ronaldo began to do in the three-peat era, and he has to start playing off the ball more for his teammates. Transitioning to this role and being less of a focal point will help the others shine and give him the opportunities he needs closer to the goal.