Carlo Ancelotti opens door to substitute role for Luka Modric

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has declared that despite the fact Luka Modric is ‘untouchable’ for him, he might be more effective off the bench.

The Croatian veteran, now 37, has struggled to find his fitness and his form since returning from the World Cup. Against Elche he was rested again, coming on in the second half to arrow a strike into the top corner.

“Modric is an untouchable player for me,” Ancelotti told Diario AS.

“But I think that everyone is important to us, I can’t think of putting in eleven equal players each game, I have to rotate, the season is demanding.”

“Right now he is finding his best level. Kroos scored in Bilbao coming off the bench, Modric did it today. From the bench they can also contribute goals. I don’t know if you will agree 100% with this, but the statistics say that.”

Since coming back from the World Cup, Modric has started 7 out of Real Madrid’s 14 games, completing just two of those fixtures.

To a certain extent it is natural for Modric to experience a drop off from the World Cup at this age. Following the 2018 tournament, Modric went through several months of poor form and lost his place to Fede Valverde temporarily.

There is little denying that Real Madrid’s best-performing midfielder over the last month is Dani Ceballos. The former Real Betis playmaker has been in inspired form, and currently Modric is probably the most likely to be dropped in terms of trio consisting of Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni and Toni Kroos.

Tags Carlo Ancelotti Luka Modric Real Madrid
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