Real Madrid once again could not find a way through the opposition in order to secure a victory on Sunday night, as they huffed and puffed their way to a 0-0 draw with Real Betis. It leaves them nine points behind Barcelona in the title race. After the match, the questions were focused on Ancelotti and the search for solutions.
The Italian bemoaned Los Blancos’ lack of effectiveness, and against Betis they did have chances. Their xG amounted to 1.14, despite their failure to get on the scoreboard.
For the final five minutes of the match, Ancelotti threw on youngster Alvaro Rodriguez in hope that the big Uruguayan might be able to get on the end of a cross. Yet it was pointed out to Ancelotti that Los Blancos did not put a single cross in while Rodriguez was on – he agreed that was a mistake.
“Yes, yes, I agree, at this moment we did not choose the best possible solution. Sometimes you dribble when you don’t have to do it, you try a one-two when you don’t have to do it, you try a pass when you have to shoot at goal… It’s what has happened these last three games and we have to fix it. It’s a collective problem of individual decisions.”
Marca recorded Ancelotti’s response, as he lamented what is now a run of just one goal in their last three games, following their 5-2 win over Liverpool.
It looks to be becoming a serious problem for Real Madrid. With neither of Vinicius Junior or Karim Benzema able to impact the scoresheet against deeper blocks, Ancelotti will have to find a way of moving his pieces around in order to create gaps in the defence.
