Before the FIFA Days in March, Real Madrid won 2-1 against Villarreal in La Liga. It was a match in which Los Blancos were exhausted. After the match, some stars such as Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham showed signs of vomiting because they were too tired.
Before the 66-hour match against Villarreal, Real Madrid had to use a penalty shootout to defeat Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.
According to La Liga regulations, teams must have a minimum break of 72 hours between two matches. Real have filed a complaint about this issue in La Liga but have been rejected for many reasons.
Captain Carlo Ancelotti is the strongest opponent of the team's match schedule. However, statistics show that he has been the least substitute coach since the beginning of the season in La Liga.
Statistics show that Federico Valverde and Kylian Mbappe are Real Madrid's two most capped players of the season. They have played 3,694 minutes and 3,586 minutes respectively this season. Rarely used young players such as Arda Guler and Endrick played about 1,088 minutes and 496 minutes.
Real Madrid have played 28 matches in La Liga this season and have made 106 substitutions (an average of 3.79 times/match). Currently, tournaments have allowed a maximum of 5 players to be substituted, but Real Madrid only used all the substitution rights in 7/28 matches. Meanwhile, Barcelona has had 20 substitutions, while Atletico Madrid have had 24.
This is a somewhat contrasting statistic compared to what Real Madrid did last season. The rate of replacing all 5 players in 1 match for Los Blancos at that time was only around 50% (19/38 matches). The rate of substitutions per match for them is also higher (4.32). Therefore, the question now is why did Ancelotti change his strategy like that?
One of the major reasons for this is that Real Madrid have just suffered a terrible storm of injuries. A series of key players have to take a long break, causing Ancelotti to be in a very difficult position.
If new names are recruited, when the pillars return, there will be a surplus crisis. That is why people like Aurelien Tchouameni have to take on many positions to expel their teammates from competition.
In addition to the above reason, Los Blancos' recruitment is also not synchronous. Last summer, they brought Mbappe and Endrick. Endrick is a deal that has been closed since 2022. Meanwhile, Mbappe is a contract that cannot be left unfulfilled.
This season, the Bernabeu team's defense has been devastated by serious injuries to Alaba, Rudiger and Militao. Meanwhile, the midfield is also congested after Kroos' departure while Modric is 40 years old. If it were not for the... Raul Acensio-style surprises, it is unclear whether Real Madrid will make it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League or not.
Last season, on the journey to the Champions League championship, Real Madrid had a very significant service from Joselu, who arrived in the Qatari national championship in the summer of 2024.
The Spanish striker has scored 17 goals with the intention of often being a substitute. It is not always that Ancelotti has such a quality reserve player, so there is a situation where the main players this season are exhausted.
Recognizing this limitation, Real Madrid has taken a turn for the case of Trent Alexander-Arnold and is about to get the signature of the Liverpool star.
With the English defender, Real Madrid not only solve the problem of the right wing in terms of defense, they also have a star who is very creative and attacking. It is not ruled out that in the coming time, there will be some additional factors added to the midfield.
