Real Madrid drop tactical experiment and Carlo Ancelotti admits they ‘don’t have players for small spaces’

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that his team is not well-suited to playing teams who sit deeper against them. The Italian’s job is to ensure that they get involved in games with plenty of turnovers, but he will not be doing so with three players at the back.

After Aurelien Tchouameni dropped alongside the central defenders on Saturday against Celta Vigo in order to help bring the ball out. It was scrapped in Galicia, and Marca reported on Monday that it would not be used again, after going poorly. Ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, Ancelotti addressed the issue.

The three centre-backs were with the ball, but without the ball it had to be a line with four defenders, as we have always done and always will do. This team does not defend with five, it may be that at the end of a game, you put more “at the back when you are winning, and you defend with five, six or seven, but as a general idea there will always be four.”

The Italian coach was asked several questions about the position of Jude Bellingham, who has seen his goalscoring figures drop dramatically, and he was also quizzed on comments he had made earlier in the season. Ancelotti has said this season that he wants ‘rock and roll’ football, something that suits his squad to his mind.

“This is what I want. A back and forth game is good for us. We have more difficulty in possession, with a low block, and controlled games because we do not have players with the characteristics to play in small spaces. What we have are players that can take advantage of their characteristics in the open space.”

“Then we are focused on defending better, that is the key, as we did last year, when we defended very, very well. We are working on making the team more solid. That’s the key to the season.”

Tchouameni, who has been harshly criticised this season operating both in defence and midfield, remains important to Ancelotti too. There was no specific aspect of the defence they are working on, aside from being more solid.

“In all aspects: being more compact, moving more with the defensive line… All the work is to have the team as compact as possible. And Tchouameni is a very important player because he recovers a lot of balls, he adapts to many positions… He is a fundamental player. These are things that you have to work on because sometimes they forget if you don’t work on them.”

Real Madrid remain the second-best defence in La Liga after rivals Atletico Madrid, but that is no small part down to Thibaut Courtois, who remains one of the best in the world between two sticks. Courtois’ presence was key not only against Celta, but also in their win over Stuttgart. The feeling is that Los Blancos are much shakier than last season.