Real Madrid are in their most painful period in a few years, as their combined 7-1 defeats to Barcelona and AC Milan back-to-back have let a sobering reality sink in: the club is worse after signing Kylian Mbappe.
The defending champions of Spain and Europe as a whole, Real Madrid have looked anything but invincible, even as there was optimism among fans that they would be untouchable in 2024/25 after signing the most talented footballer in the world.
But Mbappe has struggled to deliver on his quality, while the Real Madrid structure has been in shambles, left chasing the dirt kicked up by opposition attackers. And there is a worry that Carlo Ancelotti’s facade has come crumbling down after the departure of his coach on the field, Toni Kroos.
Real Madrid have to get serious about bolstering a leaky defense in the winter transfer window, and Ancelotti’s tactics have been placed under the highest resolution microscope available at Valdebebas.
Among the players, per Relevo, there is a shared sentiment with the fanbase that Ancelotti is additionally setting up two key members of the squad – and especially the squad’s future – to fail.
As much as Ancelotti is touted as a player’s coach, he’s always been too slow to trust the youth. Even in 2021/22, Ancelotti hesitated to play Eduardo Camavinga until he got embarrassed by Barcelona, and the Frenchman went on to play a pivotal role in the Champions League triumph.
This season, he has two excellent young attackers in Arda Guler and Endrick, who have both been exceptional whenever they come off the bench or even start for Real Madrid, but they have been seemingly phased out even as the Real attack sputters in comparison to its firepower.
The locker room is upset that Guler and Endrick, two very talented teammates with massive potential who can help win games now, are barely being utilized by their manager.
Guler scored 6 goals in just 373 La Liga minutes as a rookie Madridista and then lit up Euro 2024. He has been rewarded, after a summer of reports stating Ancelotti would make him a key player, with a meager 250 La Liga minutes and 40 in the Champions League.
Endrick has been dynamite off the bench and wise beyond his years in positioning, yet his minute ledger is even more barren than Guler’s. In the loss to Barcelona, for example, with Mbappe struggling to stay onside, Endrick could have been a second-half hero as the game was slipping away.
