Ancelotti feeling the heat amid Real woes
Print Edition
WITH Real Madrid’s attack losing its potency and the team faltering in crunch games the tide has started to turn surprisingly rapidly against coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Such is the level of expectation at the Bernabeu that winning a coveted 10th European Cup last season and overseeing its Spanish record 22-match winning streak before Christmas, has done little to bolster the Italian’s position.
Real is two points clear at the top of La Liga and well placed to progress to the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-0 win at Schalke 04 in their last 16 first leg but it is not playing with the same gusto as earlier in the campaign.
Fans and the Madrid media alike have been harsh in their criticism of the side and that puts extra significance on the Clasico against second-placed Barcelona later this month.
During Real’s 22-match winning run it averaged more than three goals a game but now has 24 from the last 13 matches.
Sensational form
Cristiano Ronaldo has been unable to sustain the sensational form with which he began the season and has a modest seven goals in 2015, while Karim Benzema has five and Gareth Bale three. Their combined total is the same as Lionel Messi’s at Barcelona.
Real’s poor return from league matches with its direct rivals has also been highlighted and the board led by president Florentino Perez is said to feel that while Ancelotti is on good terms with the players he lacks authority when necessary.
He lost a lot of credit due to the manner of Real’s 0-4 hammering by local rival Atletico Madrid last month.
The team again failed to rise to the occasion last weekend when it drew 1-1 at home to a Villarreal side that had rested players ahead of its Copa del Rey semifinal with Barcelona.
If Perez did wield the axe, with rumors he may be paving the way for youth team coach Zinedine Zidane to take over, there would be no shortage of suitors for Ancelotti, with Manchester City likely to head the queue.
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