Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid are struggling to defend their La Liga and Champions League crowns following a poor start to the 2024/25 season.
Real Madrid had an incredible 2023/24 season as they finished the campaign with the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles. Jude Bellingham enjoyed an exceptional debut campaign, and he was well supported by the likes of Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal, who seemed to be at the peak of their powers.
While Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid looked unbeatable last season, they have had a mightly fall in the new campaign. Despite adding one of the world’s best forwards Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian wonderkid Endrick to their star-studded squad, Los Blancos seems to have taken a step back this time around.
The Merengues are nine points behind league leaders Barcelona with a game in hand. As far as the Champions League is concerned, the defending champions are 17th on the points table and have already suffered two massive defeats at the hands of LOSC Lille and AC Milan.
While the reigning La Liga champions can still turn things around and go on to defend both titles, they have not been playing the best of football of late. Ancelotti has not been able to get the best out of Mbappe and Toni Kroos’s absence seems to be hurting them more than they had anticipated.
The fact that they got thrashed 4-0 by Hansi Flick’s Barcelona at home and followed it up with another 3-1 defeat at the hands of AC Milan at the Bernabeu has raised a lot of concerns. Let us dive into what exactly has gone wrong for Los Blancos.
Mbappe is not a number nine!
Back in the day, we had predicted that Mbappe’s arrival at Real Madrid could prove costly because of multiple reasons. Firstly, his preferred position is the left flank, and the team in white already have the best left-winger in the world, Vinicius Junior.
While Ancelotti was not really worried about the Frenchman’s arrival as he could even feature as a number nine, Mbappe is not an out-and-out striker, and starting him alongside Vinicius is causing problems for others around them. The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner and former Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema recently talked about Real Madrid’s struggles, and he highlighted the fact that Mbappe is not a striker.
The former Madrid captain said via Managing Madrid, “The problem for me is that Mbappé is not a centre forward. Every time he plays for France as a ‘9’ he is not good, it is not his position. The problem is that on the left there is another player who is at the same level as him… you can’t put Vini on the right or as a centre forward, where he makes a difference is on the left. Let’s see how Ancelotti does that.”
While Mbappe has seven goal contributions in his ten outings and the numbers suggest he has been doing a decent job, he has not been playing as an ideal number nine, which has forced others around him to adjust. That has not really gone according to plan so far.
The midfield is getting exposed too often
Kylian Mbappe has been playing as a striker, and he is trying to stay central. However, he is not making the kind of runs an out-and-out number nine makes, which is forcing Jude Bellingham to reprise two different roles.
The English international is trying to take up the load of being a nine as well as a central midfielder, and it was highlighted by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on CBS Sports’ coverage following Los Blancos’ defeat against AC Milan.
He said via GiveMeSport, “It’s always Bellingham trying to make the run, trying to make the team play, running in behind, trying to break the line. I think there is a little frustration. Your nine isn’t going, and your 10-ish is going. I know it can happen sometimes but not all the time. Every single time. I know he’s not a number nine and that this maybe is not what he likes to do. Do you think he likes to make those runs, try and stretch the team?
“He’ll do it because he has to do it, because his desire speaks, his will speaks. You don’t win games like that. You don’t win games with your 10 breaking the line, coming back, trying to bend his run, trying to defend, trying to go the other side. And then after, he gets substituted?
“I would have been upset too – I saw him kicking a bottle. I would be upset also, of course. For me, this is not good enough and I don’t think they are playing well as a team but on the ball also he (Mbappe) has to do way more.”
With Bellingham making those runs in behind and coming back to help out the central midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, Real Madrid have been caught on the defensive transition on quite a few occasions. It is stretching out the midfield and putting too much on the plate of the former Borussia Dortmund prodigy.
Kroos’s void and Tchouameni’s struggles
Toni Kroos was one of Real Madrid’s best players along with the likes of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Dani Carvajal last season. While he was at the peak of his powers, the German sniper decided to call it a day at the end of the 2023/23 season.
His decision to call it a day has had a massive impact on Real Madrid’s performances in the new season. Apart from dictating the pace of the game and deciding when to push hard and sit back, the former German international was the central figure in their team linking everyone together.
The game used to revolve around Kroos and his long balls were one of the biggest weapons for Los Blancos going forward. His retirement has forced the likes of Valverde and Bellingham to drop deep and try to initiate attacks.
The duo tend to excel in advanced roles and pulling them back has cost the reigning La Liga champions. Apart from that, Tchouameni’s form has been a major cause of concern, as the French international looks like a shadow of his best self.
He was at the receiving end of a lot of criticism following his poor outing against AC Milan. The former AS Monaco star was directly involved in both the goals the Rossoneri scored in the first half, and Ancelotti ended up replacing him at half-time.
In 45 minutes of footballing action against the Italian outfit, the French midfielder could only manage three ball recoveries. It is a very low number when we consider the fact that it is his priority role. His struggles against Milan were not just a one-off, Tchouameni has not been up to the mark for the majority of the new season.
In his four Champions League appearances, he has only managed a total of 10 ball recoveries. He is behind a total of 277 players in that regard, including nine players from his own team. The Frenchman’s number in La Liga have not been that great either as he has only managed 44 recoveries and has been outperformed by 19 other midfielders.
These are not ideal numbers for someone who has been asked to anchor the midfield of the best team in the world. Tchouameni’s form has been a major headache for Ancelotti, and this is a position that Real Madrid have been looking to reinforce in the near future.
Carvajal’s injury and the lack of depth in defence
It is not a secret that Real Madrid lack defensive depth. It was a miracle to see them win the Champions League and La Liga titles despite lengthy injuries to Eder Militao and David Alaba last season. With Nacho heading through the exit door, they were expected to bring in a new central defender.
Los Blancos were in talks to sign Leny Yoro, but they lost out to Manchester United in the race for his signature. In the end, they did not make any additions to their backline despite the fact that they were forced to start Tchouameni at the heart of the defence last season.
While Alaba is yet to regain full fitness, the Spanish giants received a massive blow quite early in the season as Dani Carvajal joined him on the sidelines. The Real Madrid full-back has torn his ACL, and he is expected to be out until the end of the season.
Lucas Vazquez is a decent cover for Carvajal, but he is not on the same level. The 32-year-old was one of Madrid’s best players on the pitch last season. Apart from his defensive contributions, he even had 11 goal contributions in his 41 outings last season.
Ancelotti’s team were playing in a 4-4-2 last season with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo up top, the duo used to drift towards the left flank to link up and create chances, this would create a lot of space for Caravajal to go up field and Kroos used to find him is open space with a diagonal long ball.
The Spanish international used to cause a lot of problems for the opposition defenders, and his crosses would make things easier for the two Madrid forwards and their new star Bellingham.
Lack of minutes for the wonderkids
With the trio of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Kylian Mbappe not getting the desired results, Carlo Ancelotti should be using the likes of Brahim Diaz, Arda Guler and Endrick more often.
Diaz has struggled with fitness issues, and one can understand why he only has 184 minutes of first-team under his belt. But, the same cannot be said about Endrick and Arda Guler, who have been on the pitch for a combined 399 minutes so far.
The 18-year-old Brazilian striker has 107 minutes of first-team action in his nine outings. Despite contributing towards three goals in very limited game time, Endrick often finds himself watching on from the sidelines. While Guler has not had the kind of impact one expects from him, and he has been on the pitch for just 292 minutes.
The duo can offer something different to Real Madrid’s attack, and Ancelotti consider starting them every now and then. If those on the bench are in form, it will put pressure on their star forwards to deliver their best day in and day out.