Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has refuted the very premise of the goalkeeping debate at the Santiago Bernabeu, claiming it to be a purely external matter. Andriy Lunin played the Spanish Supercup final and their Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid, while Kepa Arrizabalaga had played their previous two matches in the Supercup and Copa del Rey.
Both made mistakes in those games, although in Lunin’s case, it did cost Los Blancos their place in the Copa. Immediately after the match, Ancelotti confirmed Kepa would start against Almeria on Sunday. He was asked about it ahead of that match.
“Immaculate goalkeepers do not exist. Goalkeepers make mistakes, as Kepa and Lunin have done. This does not change the confidence I have in both. The debate is external. I hear it, but internally, there is no debate.”
It was something that he was being asked about again, but he cut in on the question.
“There is no internal debate, there is no internal debate. Maybe there is externally, but there isn’t here, I choose the goalkeeper,” Ancelotti said stubbornly.
Initially Ancelotti was praised for being open-minded enough to changing his mind at the goalkeeping position, but previously he had said he would choose a number one after Christmas, something that is yet to happen. Since the errors of both, the Italian has been criticised for perhaps creating uncertainty in the minds of the goalkeepers themselves, given neither can be comfortable in their position.
