Real Madrid were forced to battle on the opening weekend of the 2022/23 La Liga season as they secured a 2-1 win at Almeria.
Los Blancos kicked off their Spanish title defence up against the reigning Segunda Division champions from 2021/22 in a tough test in Andalucia.
Largie Ramazani’s early goal gave Almeria hope of a shock on their return to the top-flight but Real Madrid battled back after the restart.
Goals from Lucas Vazquez and David Alaba turned the tide for the visitors in the final 30 minutes as they ground out a win at the Power Horse Stadium.
However, despite eventually edging over the line to all three points, Carlo Ancelotti admitted his younger players struggled to cope with the intensity of Almeria on the night.
“The youngsters have played as they usually do. For what they do in training, they deserve to play, as per reports from Marca.
“But on an emotional level, the game has weighed a bit on them. That is quite normal, they are very young, and the shirt weighs heavy.”
Up next for Real Madrid is a trip to Celta Vigo next weekend with Almeria heading to Elche.
Thanks my club
It’s true that the game was tough and so demanding to the young madristas, but to me they played avergely according to their ages and capacity. The problem I may noticed is that they are too many in the first half squad. They need to tap the experience of big time players dorning jerseys 8, 10, 9, 14, 4 and more. Their future hold strong promise.