Sunday’s disappointing goalless draw against Real Betis saw Real Madrid lose more ground in the La Liga title race. Barcelona’s victory earlier in the day meant that their margin from the start of the weekend increased from 7 to 9.
Carlo Ancelotti opted to start Aurelien Tchouameni and Rodrygo in Andalusia in place of Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio, who both started the previous league match against city rivals Atletico Madrid, which also finished in a stalemate.
Club president Florentino Perez spoke with Ancelotti in the aftermath of the match on Sunday, and one of his frustrations was with the Italian’s decision to not regularly pick the latter duo, according to Libertad Digital.
Perez feels that both Ceballos and Asensio have been in good form and deserve to start in place of others, namely Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. All four players are out of contract this summer, but Ancelotti has opted to utilise his veteran duo more often his season.
Real Madrid’s season is showing signs of curtailing. Three successive poor results could see their chances of glory in both La Liga and the Copa del Rey diminish, resting all their hopes of a successful season on the Champions League.
The pressure will firmly be on Ancelotti to deliver a second European crown in succession.
