He was a real ‘one club man’, having joined AS in 1999 after graduating from the European University and been born in Granada in 1977. He moved to the Real Madrid department, where he currently holds the position of Editor-in-Chief, after two years of covering Atletico. He has covered three Club World Cups, a Champions League final, and the 2008 European Championship.
“We need to play in a different, more vertical manner. During preseason talks, Ancelotti pushed the notion that Kroos is irreplaceable. The coach seems nonchalant when asked about taking on new problems with a midfield that is shallow but has explosive offensive potential, particularly with Mbappé joining the team. He thought that Tchouameni, Camavinga, and Valverde, a strong midfield trio, could help the squad while attackers fixed their scoring problems. For a large portion of the season, this tactic appeared to be effective—with little play but high scoring—until Madrid’s offensive ability declined.
In particular, the team’s loss to Espayol on February 2nd marked the start of the collapse. Only Mbappé has been able to sustain any kind of consistent scoring ability in the 19 games that have been played in the two and a half months since that encounter. The French striker scored 11 goals during that time, but aside from a spectacular hat-trick versus City, which was his only moment of genius, he has mostly disappeared when it counts. In addition to being a non-factor in both games against Arsenal (he was substituted in the second game owing to a moderate sprain) and having previously displayed unsportsmanlike behavior against Alavés, Mbappé has alarmingly failed to score in the last five games. A worrying decline.
For the previous two and a half months, Vinicius and Rodrygo have been essentially absent. Vinicius only managed four goals in the previous 19 games, two of which were insignificant in Champions League losses to Valencia and Arsenal. Rodrygo is seldom seen on the field since he has only achieved one goal, and it came against Atletico in a Champions League game.
Ancelotti’s strategy of depending on a strong midfield and an explosive offense has been successfully undermined by these trio’s absence at crucial times. Additionally, Madrid’s ability to stay strong during key moments has been hampered by these three forwards’ lack of defensive effort. This disconnect resulted in a flurry of lost offensive opportunities. Only Mbappé managed to get a shot on goal against Arsenal in the first leg, while only Vinicius made an effort in the second leg. Not a single one made it to the net. To make matters more complicated, Rodrygo was the only player to score against Atlético in the Round of 16.
The downfall of Real Madrid has been more noticeable, and it is directly related to the decline of its attacking trio. The team has only won ten of the last 19 games, with six losses and three ties. The fact that they have only triumphed once in their previous five games—most notably against Alavés, where Mbappé was sent off straight—is very alarming. Only two goals from Vinicius were scored by the trio in those final five games, and both were mainly inconsequential against Arsenal and Valencia. Heaven is obviously nowhere to be found if the trio isn’t playing at their best.
