Twice humbled by Barca, second in LaLiga – how much trouble is Ancelotti’s in at Real Madrid ?

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Under pressure? 

©IMAGO

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti did little to hide his frustration with his side, following their 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa final on Sunday night. In a match played in front of a somewhat neutral crowd in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Italian tactician got straight to the point after the game, by pointing out that his team “didn’t defend well” throughout the match. “We have to look at the reality. We didn’t defend well,” admitted Ancelotti in his post-match news conference. “We tried to press high and defend with a low block. They scored the goals easily, and we didn’t work hard, collectively or individually. We lost a lot of duels. That makes us sad and disappointed, but that’s football. We have to take that sadness home. I understand the sadness of our fans. We feel that, but we have to look forward, and prepare for the next game, and recover the good form we’d been in.”

However, while Ancelotti may wish to point the finger at his team, many within the Spanish capital have instead pointed it at him and some serious questions are apparently being raised over his management of the Spanish and European champions this season. According to reports in Spain this week, Los Blancos are considering a managerial change after the high-profile routing at the hands of their historic rivals. So how have Madrid gone from champions of Europe to a team that can’t defend in El Clasico clashes in the space of less than 12 months?

Perhaps the most obvious reason behind the heat that Ancelotti is now facing from fans of the club is the team’s poor performances in big games. Sunday’s defeat to Barcelona was the second time Madrid have suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Hansi Flick’s team, having previously been thumped 4-0 in front of their own fans back in late October. When we couple both of those defeats with high-profile losses against AC Milan and Liverpool in the Champions League, it certainly suggests that while Ancelotti’s team may still be perfectly adept at picking up points against lesser sides in Spain and in Europe, they continue to come up short against top-tier opponents. And there’s little doubt that few Madrid managers have ever survived regular displays of inadequacy against the continent’s other top clubs. 

There is also the matter of Ancelotti’s overall record at Madrid this season. In all competitions this season the 65-year-old manager is averaging 2.10 points per game. Not only has that led to the club slipping into second place in LaLiga behind cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid, but it has also seen Madrid slump to twentieth in the Champions League group stage and in desperate need of maximum points in their two remaining games to try and reach the automatic qualification spots. And when we take a look at Ancelotti’s record through the years as Madrid manager, we can see that his current run of form in this current season is his worst over the course of his two stints at the club. 

With two perfectly winnable games in the Champions League to come against RB Salzburg and Stade Brestois, there’s little doubt that Madrid should make it through to the next stage of the European competition. And, despite the heavy defeat to Barcelona in October, Madrid remain just one point off top spot in LaLiga with a home clash against Atlético next month. So there’s every opportunity for Ancelotti to turn things around and get Madrid back to a level of success that they demand from their players and head coaches. But Sunday’s clash with their historic foes undoubtedly underlines some big issues in Ancelotti’s team and if he isn’t able to fix them soon, the club may find someone else that will.