On Saturday, Real Madrid broke nothing less than a world record, said Carlo Ancelotti. “We have four central defenders in the squad and all of them are injured.” The Italian has been worried since December, when David Alaba tore his cruciate ligament, but he has always found a solution. On Saturday, FC Girona came to the Santiago Bernabéu, the surprise team in the league that had not yet lost an away game.
Which has the best striker in the league with 52 goals and also one of the best strikers in the Ukrainian Dovbyk. He has 14 goals to his name, five of which he scored with his head. Nobody could have expected that the score would be 4-0 in the end. The Catalans didn’t have a single chance. And Ancelotti’s new key to defensive strength is Aurélien Tchouaméni.
“It will annoy him if I say this, but he is a spectacular centre-back. “He is as good as a few when it comes to building up the game and is tactically very intelligent,” the coach said before and he was right. Next to the 24-year-old Frenchman, he placed full-back Carvajal, who at 173 centimeters is actually a dwarf for the central position, but thanks to the entire team’s good positional play, the opponents didn’t get a single shot on goal on Saturday.
“Playing the piano helps me”
Previously, Tchouaméni had not only trained the position on the pitch, but also at home with virtual glasses with which he repeatedly simulated his game. “This makes me better in training and in games. I can vary the intensity. “It improves my view of the pitch in front of and behind me and helps me make the right decisions under pressure,” said the Frenchman in an interview with “El País” when he was still deployed as a defensive midfielder. He also revealed that he had discovered the piano as a mental balance. “Playing the piano helps me stay focused,” said the Frenchman.
Tchouaméni is used to changing positions. In his youth at Girondins Bordeaux, the French-born son of parents from Cameroon was still a striker. But little by little he moved further onto the defensive. Madrid brought him from Monaco for 80 million euros two years ago as the successor to the Brazilian Casemiro. He was actually supposed to carefully grow into this role at the time, but then Casemiro unexpectedly went to Manchester United – probably also an economic consideration on Real’s part, who received a transfer fee of 70 million euros for the then 30-year-old Brazilian.
Now Tchouaméni has moved back even further and played a perfect game against Girona. And the team “made a virtue out of necessity.” This is how Ancelotti put it after the game. “We played with humility. “Everyone took on their defensive tasks with great commitment,” said the coach, visibly satisfied, and spoke of the best game of the season.
Good footballers don’t like to run after them, the Italian explained, “but when the opponent has the ball, that’s necessary. Today everyone sacrificed themselves, including Vinícius, Bellingham and Rodrygo. That’s humility.”
In this condition, Vinícius is actually the best in the world in his position, said Ancelotti to his striker on the very day that the newspapers once again reported on an impending transfer from Kylian Mbappé to Madrid. The 23-year-old Brazilian surprised everyone several times with unusual actions.
Star ensemble: Real Madrid will face Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday. : Image: AFP
He made it 1-0 with a powerful, effortless shot from the edge of the penalty area, and he made it 2-0 with a wide, opening pass to Bellingham. Only one of his famous dribbles preceded the 3-0 victory. Bellingham then scored his second goal.
Before it was 4-0, Rodrygo didn’t let the ball get to him when he dribbled across the field. In addition to humility, Real also has a lot of talent in the squad, Ancelotti analyzed. In the end, Vinícius’ opponent at Girona, Yan Couto, left the field in tears.
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In the press conference after the game, a Cuban journalist pointed out that Real Madrid would be playing in the Champions League round of 16 in Leipzig on Tuesday, just one day before Valentine’s Day, “the day of lovers”. Ancelotti said they were actually happy to be competing in their favorite competition again, but at the same time warned. In Leipzig, Rüdiger’s use is at risk again, and Bellingham could also be canceled. “We have already lost there once,” said Ancelotti, recalling the 2-3 defeat in the group stage last season. However, Tchouaméni did not yet play in central defense.
