On the evening of January 14, Beijing time, Real Madrid team reporter Mario Cortegana from The Athletic reported that after the 2-5 defeat to Barcelona, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti considered changing tactics in major matches. He will restart the 4-4-2 formation, for which the Brazilian genius Rodrygo, who is worth 100 million euros, will have to be "sacrificed" to be relegated to the bench.
In the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti fielded four attack-oriented players, namely Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham. However, although the attacking line composed of these 4 "100 million yuan" gentlemen was very luxurious, Real Madrid was scored by Barcelona five goals in a row after scoring in the opening 5 minutes, and finally missed the Spanish Super Cup with a complete defeat.
Obviously, such a tactical arrangement is too aggressive. Not only did they suffer heavy defeats to Barcelona, Real Madrid have also suffered defeats in other major competitions this season, including Milan and Liverpool in the Champions League and away to Biba in La Liga. The club's idea was to assemble a star-studded forward line, but the team failed to find the right balance between defence and attack in key games.
To that end, An's boss is considering reusing a 4-4-2 formation for the remainder of the season's key fixtures. That would see Valverde back on the right and Bellingham on the left – which would require significant sacrifices from the Uruguay and England internationals. And everything suggests that Rodrygo is most likely to be abandoned, although the 24-year-old Brazilian striker is highly regarded by Carlo Ancelotti for his defensive efficiency.
As for the backline, 21-year-old Academy centre-back Raul Asensio is expected to get more minutes in future games. He will replace Vázquez at right-back or replace Tchouameni at centre-back.