Real Madrid are in a state of crisis after losing 3-1 to AC Milan, compounding their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona even further. There are calls for Carlo Ancelotti to lose his job, cries for a new center back and right back in January, and a general sense of disbelief at how much this team has unraveled in 2024/25.
It was only six months ago that Real Madrid were on top of European football as Champions League and La Liga winners. They won both titles convincingly, and then they went ahead and added Kylian Mbappe and Endrick to their attack in the summer.
Well, the Real Madrid attack has been, if anything, significantly worse with Mbappe as the centerpiece player alongside Vinicius Junior, with Jude Bellingham left to chase shadows in a defensive role and the club’s biggest gem Arda Guler left to toil on the bench.
For shame, Don Carlo, for shame. And the defense has been even worse, with Dani Carvajal’s season-ending injury perhaps serving as a death blow to a back four that overperformed last season and is now saddled with three starters who are not performing to the Real Madrid standard (Eder Militao is the lone exception).
But if you go back and look at the most recent loss to AC Milan, one player stood out as the biggest liability for Real Madrid defensively, making two inexcusable errors at the Champions League level to effectively doom the Merengues.
Aurelien Tchouameni came into the season as one of the most touted No. 6’s in the role, acclaimed for his calmness, accurate passing, and intelligent covering defending.
Uncharacteristically, Tchouameni has been sloppy in the 2024/25 season, with many Madridistas joking that he’d be better off starting in a center back role – as he did in emergencies last season – instead of the 6.
That’s how poor Tchouameni has been, and he hit a new low against Milan. Tchouameni made a delayed pass in the middle of the pitch while in his own half, which Milan easily intercepted en route to scoring.
He failed to track Alvaro Morata back on the goal, too, compounding the error and basically gifting Milan a goal. That goal changed the narrative of the game, and at no point did Tchouameni look capable of rectifying this error.
With Toni Kroos gone, Tchouameni has been badly exposed in some of these big matches, unable to keep Real’s shape and equally unable to impact play in the final third with playmaking passes from deep.
That’s not to say Tchouameni has been bad in every game. He had a rough start to the season and then bounced back with a masterclass against Real Betis, as Real did as a team, but he has sagged again since that night.
Real Madrid have a more talented midfielder sitting on the bench in Eduardo Camavinga, and he was the one Carlo finally brought in to turn the tide in the second half against Milan.
Camavinga was vital off the bench in 2021/22 when Real Madrid won the Champions League, and he was even their best left back whenever called upon last season.
Tchouameni should not be sold just for a few bad games, and it is easy for the criticism to become overblown. At the same time, Tchouameni clearly isn’t Real’s best option in the lineup right now, and Carlo must make decisions based on what will help Real win, especially at this juncture when they are falling behind in both La Liga and the Champions League.
Camavinga has to start over Tchouameni. The ex-Monaco star must earn his spot back and work his way into the starting lineup; he is no longer an undisputed starter, and hopefully a little competition coaxes a real turnaround from him.
