“I like my defenders to be pessimistic, not optimistic.” Those were Carlo Ancelotti’s words in his first season back at Real Madrid, and to simplify down his philosophy during that time, the Italian’s general approach has been that if he can persuade his team to defend well, and ensure they are organised, they will find a way to win games.
So far the numbers suggest that Ancelotti is doing just that. In spite of the fact that Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois are out long-term, that Dani Carvajal and Kepa Arrizabalaga suffered injury issues, and that Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni in front of them missing, their defence has been solid all season. In 15 La Liga games so far this season, they have conceded just 9 goals, the best record in La Liga.
In general, Marca claim that since Ancelotti’s return, they concede less goals than anyone else in Europe (129 in 166, 0.77 per game). This season that ratio is at 0.60 goals per game domestically, ahead of Zinedine Zidane’s record 25 goals conceded in 2019-20 (0.66).
Real Madrid have four clean sheets in their last six games, and in La Liga, eight clean sheets is more than any other side. If they can maintain this pace, it augers well for a team that has Jude Bellingham in excellent form, but does not have a star number nine. Since the 20-year-old Englishman was moved to the left side to defend, in front of the now fit Ferland Mendy, Los Blancos have looked much solid too. The next challenge will be to ensure they do not miss Carvajal too much now.
