A week ago, after Real Madrid lost to Liverpool at Anfield, well-connected club legend Predrag Mijatovic noticed that Carlo Ancelotti had lost the dressing room. This week a 'state of emergency' was declared in the White House.
Another defeat to Athletic Club has wiped away any talk of a return to La Liga after three straight wins, and once again the finger is being pointed at Carlo Ancelotti. According to Relevo, Ancelotti is once again in the crosshairs at Real Madrid, unable to build a strong identity, develop a solid plan without the ball, or motivate a major response from his players.
The lack of meritocracy, where players are given starts based on their reputation, his late decisions on substitutions and his lack of confidence in the young players are some of the issues that are once again being discussed in the boardroom. That was clearly on display in Bilbao, when Arda Guler and Endrick Felipe were sent on with just minutes to go to try to sort things out. Ancelotti continues to take a cautious approach in big games, waiting for opportunities and trying to minimize mistakes, which has not worked.
Even if the young players were not given opportunities, it is not as if their star players have performed well, a problem highlighted by Kylian Mbappe. The program includes Girona and Atalanta away, Rayo Vallecano, the Club World Cup final and Sevilla, of which the club expects five victories before the end of the year.
The Italian manager and his staff are working in a situation of 'maximum tension', with a 'dressing room difficult to manage'. The report ends by saying that it will be difficult for Ancelotti to turn things around at this point.
Ancelotti refuted the idea a few weeks ago that the dressing room was not as healthy as last season, but there undoubtedly seems to be less spirit in this Madrid team. This is of course partly a consequence of the results, but the departure of Joselu Mato, Nacho Fernandez and Toni Kroos also plays a role.
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