Carlo Ancelotti cannot guarantee Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale regular game time at Real Madrid this season, with Los Blancos prepared to rotate in the final third until a winning formula is found.
The Belgium international is yet to produce his best in Spain and the Welsh forward, who spent last season on loan at Tottenham, are among the options pushing for starting berths at Santiago Bernabeu.
Bale has looked bright in his early outings in 2021-22 – registering his first goal for Real in nearly two years during their 3-3 draw with Levante – but Karim Benzema, Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior are also eager to nail down spots in Ancelotti’s plans.
What has been said?
Quizzed on his attacking options and what his favoured unit may look like, Ancelotti has told reporters: “I can’t tell you how many minutes they’re going to play. There’s a lot of competition up front.
“We’ve got some quality forwards like Bale, Vini Jr., Hazard, Benzema and Jovic, who did well [against Levante]. I have to enjoy that quality on the pitch by handing those who deserve to be out there the game time.”
Who has impressed so far?
© Provided by Sporting News Vinicius Junior Real Madrid La Liga 2021-22
Real have taken four points from their opening two games this season, with Brazilian star Vinicius grabbing three of their seven goals.
Ancelotti said of the 21-year-old, who has faced criticism at times over his lack of end product: “Vinicius Jr. has the quality and is very quick. Is he a great goalscorer? I don’t know about that, because he enjoys playing out wide.
“He needs to score goals like the first one he got, by taking players on, because he’s quicker than his opponents. It’s tougher for him when in the box, but given his quality, he’s capable of scoring goals from range and in one-on-one situations. He’ll be an important for us.
“He may start next week’s game, we’ll have to see. It’s more important that you’re on the pitch at the end of the game rather than at the start and he did that today thanks to his freshness and ability.
“Vinicius Jr. has scored three goals in two matches and that’s the sign of a really important player.
“I don’t give too much importance to who starts because I’ve got such a good squad. We’ve scored a lot of goals in these first two games. The problem isn’t whether Vinicius Jr starts or not, the concern is if he isn’t scoring but he got two goals today.”
What do Real need to work on?
While goals have been flowing for Real, they are waiting on a first clean sheet of 2021-22 and required an 85th-minute leveller from Vinicius to take a point from their trip to Levante.
Ancelotti admits there is plenty for his side – who have lost Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane this summer – to work on at the back, adding: “Where we have gone wrong and dropped points is not in attack but in defence.
“The third goal was unlucky. For the first, our defensive line wasn’t right and we were out of position. For the second, it was three against two and that can’t happen. It should at least be three against three when the cross came over.”
Source: msn.com
