Los Blancos' treble hopes are dwindling after a disastrous week, but their beleaguered manager is not solely to blame
Real Madrid's 2024-25 campaign is in real danger of unravelling. They fell four points behind arch-rivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race after a 2-1 defeat at home to Valencia last weekend, before being decimated 3-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, and Carlo Ancelotti is, understandably, growing more and more frustrated.
“Why am I finding it difficult to instil ambition in these players?” Ancelotti said after Tuesday’s loss to Arsenal. “This is a little bit the problem we’ve been having throughout the season: the difficulty of being a compact unit in good moments, but also in bad moments.” Indeed, the Gunners were able to carve Real open far too easily, which continued a worrying trend in the most important matches.
As is always the case at Real, though, the buck stops with the manager. According to , if Ancelotti is unable to deliver more major trophies come May, with a Copa del Rey final date against Barca also on the cards, he will pay the ultimate price.
Los Blancos are said to have already lined up Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso to replace Ancelotti, who no longer has any margin for error. But sacking the legendary Italian coach won't fix Madrid's biggest issue.
Ancelotti has been hamstrung this term by the club's baffling lack of transfer activity, and the deficiencies in key areas of the squad are now impossible to ignore. It doesn't matter who is sitting in the dugout; until a semblance of balance is restored Madrid will remain a team that is far too reliant on individual brilliance and doesn't have any plan B.
Getty ImagesNo depth at the back
Real only made one significant new signing last summer: the World Cup-winning French superstar Kylian Mbappe. The long-awaited capture of the ex-Paris Saint-Germain forward was seen as another major statement of intent from the club after their La Liga and Champions League double success in 2023-24, and he was certainly a major upgrade on the well past his peak Joselu, who left the club to join Qatar-based outfit Al Gharafa.
But even more glaring issues went unaddressed. Midfield icon Toni Kroos retired, while versatile club captain Nacho departed for the Saudi Pro League, leaving a gaping hole in the defence.
Ancelotti was forced to start the new season with just two fit senior centre-backs in the form of Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao, with David Alaba still recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in December 2023. Dani Carvajal, meanwhile, was the only natural right-back on Madrid's books, and the spot on the left was to be shared between Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia.
With no real depth at the back, Real were asking for trouble, and it quickly found them.
AdvertisementAFPJanuary tumbleweeds
During Real's 2-0 win over Villarreal at the Bernabeu in October, Carvajal ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, and subsequently underwent surgery. The following month, Militao also tore his ACL in a 4-0 victory against Osasuna – a repeat of the injury that had sidelined him for eight months in 2023-24 – which prompted Ancelotti to draft in Raul Asencio from the academy.
Los Blancos coped reasonably well over the festive period, but a 2-1 loss at Athletic Club and a 3-3 draw with Rayo Vallecano did damage to their La Liga aspirations, and it was obvious that defensive reinforcements were needed in the winter transfer window. Alarm bells certainly should have been ringing after the Supercopa de Espana final on January 12, which saw Barcelona thrash Real 5-2 in Saudi Arabia – despite playing the final 34 minutes of the game with 10 men.
But when the deadline eventually passed, Ancelotti was left to make do with his lot once again. Alaba's long-awaited return to the pitch was seen as reason enough not to splash the cash, despite the fact the Austrian had spent 399 days on the sidelines and would need time to build up match fitness again.
It is no surprise, then, that Real are coming apart at the business end of the season. Ancelotti has stretched his squad to the limit, playing a number of stars out of position, and has also plucked the likes of Jacobo Ramon, Lorenzo Aguado Chema Andres, Gonzalo Garcia from the Castilla ranks to try and cope.
Getty Images SportReal need a miracle
To make matters worse for Ancelotti, Madrid also lost reliable centre midfielder Dani Ceballos to a hamstring injury in February, and Mendy has spent the last month in the treatment room due to a similar issue. There are only nine outfield players Ancelotti has put his faith in to start week in, week out this season: Rudiger, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Mbappe.
It would be a miracle if Real end up turning around the Champions League tie against Arsenal, or pipping Barca to the finishing post in La Liga with resources so thin. The situation certainly seems to be taking a toll on Ancelotti, who has spent far too many months experimenting with different lineups and systems to try and compensate for the top-heavy nature of his squad.
There is no salvation to be found on Real's bench either. Ancelotti is not yet convinced that teenage wonderkids Endrick and Arda Guler can keep up with the intensity of top-level football, and Asensio has been the only academy star to leave a proper mark.
Of course, all hope is not lost yet. But something has to change if Los Blancos are to end their campaign on a glorious note.
GettyVini & Mbappe 'don't fight for anything'
Real's main problem is the fact they're conceding too many goals. But that is not only down to bad luck with injuries and poor planning in the transfer market.
According to , some members of the coaching staff have had concerns about the frontline's work-rate out of possession since the start of the season. Mbappe and Vinicius were certainly guilty of pressing half-heartedly against Arsenal, much to the annoyance of former Real midfielder Alvaro Benito.
"Run, tighten your butt! A player who wants to be a champion like Vinicius or Mbappe should be the first to take the initiative. They don't fight for anything," Benito told . "There have been games where they have allowed the game to turn inside for the opponents. You don't want to work hard, at least don't let the midfielder turn and stand still, even Ronaldo Nazario did it."
claims that Ancelotti confronted Vinicius, Mbappe Rodrygo for the same reasons after the Super Cup final defeat to Barca. Mbappe only ran 5km in that contest, which Ancelotti joked was less than Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
It's likely they would have felt the full force of the former Chelsea and AC Milan manager's wrath again at the Emirates, as Real ran a staggering 12.7km less than Arsenal over the 90 minutes. The whole team is underperforming defensively, but it's Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo's job to set the tone by leading the high press, and they're simply not putting in enough effort.
