Real Madrid kickstarted the new phase of their ongoing season with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo last night, but the performance leaves the management and players with more questions than answers.
For the umpteenth time this season, Los Blancos took points last night with an unconvincing performance where the defence failed miserably. Thibaut Courtois, in many ways, was their only saviour.
Ancelotti is worried
As revealed in a recent update by SPORT, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is seriously worried ahead of the crucial weeks ahead, especially given his team’s form and the tough schedule coming up.
What particularly worries the manager is the upcoming game against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League where the team already took a massive blow in the previous match day, losing to Lille.
The Germans have been in imperious form in the European competition with two wins in as many games as a stellar 7-1 rout of Celtic in their last outing. They are, in fact, the leaders of the competition at the moment.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, dropped to 17th place after their defeat to Lille and are far from their best on the field. Facing Dortmund walking a tightrope is thus not ideal.
The primary concern for the manager is the instability at the back where Eder Militao once again showed signs of physical problems and did not patch up a great partnership with Antonio Rudiger.
Further, Federico Valverde was far from his best last night and the entire defence was in shambles. Had it not been for Courtois, the result could well have been very different.
Losing another game in the UCL will seriously hurt Real Madrid’s chances of finishing in the top eight of the league stage and also impair their momentum ahead of El Clasico. The two upcoming clashes, thus, are must-win games.