Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will have pleased a significant portion of Madridismo this Friday, after admitting he may bring up the lack of depth in the forward position. It has been a hot topic of debate in the Spanish capital over the past two seasons.
Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or last year and was impeccable up front, but now 35, many have questioned why there is so little in the way of rotational options for Benzema. Mariano Diaz is the only other natural striker in the squad. Ancelotti has most often used Rodrygo Goes though the middle, at times moving Marco Asensio or Fede Valverde there too.
Talking ahead of the Club World Cup final, Ancelotti was asked whether Rodrygo and Benzema were sufficient options for next season.
“It is a subject that we will discuss, we have to take into account Karim’s age but also what he brings. When he has returned he is doing very well and I am convinced that he will do very well next season.”
Few doubt Benzema’s quality, but has only appeared in 21 of their 33 games this season. In many of the games he has played, Benzema has not looked sharp or fully fit either.
Ancelotti was also asked how many goals he saw Rodrygo scoring this sseason. The Brazilian has ten so far this season, which is third for Real Madrid behind Benzema (13) and Vinicius Junior (14).
“I don’t know how many he can score. He has the quality to score many, but the important thing is that he scores the important ones. I’m not going to risk much more, I already took a risk on a bet with Valverde, I’m not going to risk with Rodrygo.”
Earlier in the season, Ancelotti rrevealed he had made a bet – if Fede Valverde does not make it to 10 goals this season, he will give up his coaching licence.
This is the first time that Ancelotti has openly acknowledged that Real Madrid might need to strengthen at the position. Los Blancos have brough in several stars in recent seasons, as well as veteran free agents, yet there has been relatively little investment in alternative options behind the starting XI.
Lmao have been talking about this since season started.
Good thing club finally realizes this.
Team is fantastic. We only lack a sharp striker, finishing isnt RM tier of lethal. The link up game is great, mid is great, defense has had bad luck with injuries. When you score 3-4 goals it doesnt matter if you concede 1-2.
Benz injuries and age make him an excellent player to share the pitch time and Im sure hed perform even better with more rest between matches, but he is not our focal point anymore.
The question is what to do until Endrick is ready. If Benzema is to be resigned we need another quality striker, it doesnt matter if its a 32 or 33 yr old on a lease för a year or two.
Camavinga should play right wing i assure madrid fc he will score
Every game we have a greater percentage of play, last three La Liga games figures were 61% via Sociedad, 71% via Valencia and 74% via Mallorca, we have the following shots/shots on target figures in the order of the same games, 20/7, 19/8 and 20/1, very poor return.
Against Sociedad Vini had three One on ones with the keeper and another two shots all in the first half and failed with all..he annoys me by smiling when he gets it wrong in every game. When is he going to stop falling.
Against Valencia Asensio missed a hat trick of first half chances before scoring near the hour mark and his missed penalty at Mallorca resulted in a lost game as if he had scored the game would have swung our way.
Our midfield, particularly Valverde and Ceballos, require to be more direct in our attack at the opposition defence and not playing the ball back or side ways at every opportunity.
We require a more direct and industrious midfielder who puts opposition defences under pressure, a young version of the great pair of stars Modric and Kroos.
One more thing, Camavenga needs to spend some time at Valdebebas practicing passing the ball with his right foot.