Karim Benzema is injured.
The news before the ElClasico has raised the concerns of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti many times over. Benzema, the mainstay of Real’s attack in the post-Ronaldo era, will be replaced by the Italian coach today. Ancelotti does not believe in bringing a change in the original XI. He has a notoriety for playing match after match in the strongest XI. One can only guess how ‘annoyed’ Ancelotti feels when he decides who will replace Benzema in the starting XI before a crucial match like El Clিকsico ! On top of that, not only Benzema but also the French left-back Farlan Mendi is not getting Real today against Barcelona.
The outcome of this match is not going to have much effect on the fight for the league title. There was a time when two El ElClasico of the season in La Liga settled the title fight a lot. It doesn’t need to be this season. It can be said that Barcelona is not in the title fight. Real are 10 points ahead of second-placed Sevilla in the league. Barcelona is 15 points behind Real Madrid in one match less than three.
But at the end of the day, the match is El Clিকsico! All the discussions about the points, form, position of the two teams became meaningless due to the importance of this match. It’s a fight for dignity beyond that point!
Like Barcelona, Real Madrid will play 4-3-3 in this match. Since Benzema is no more, the big question is who will play in his place. Ancelotti declined to say who would replace Benzema at the pre-match press conference. Naturally, who wants to miss this opportunity to keep the opposing coach in the fog?
Vinicius Jr. is among the three attackers, that’s for sure. The question is who will be the other two because Benzema is not there. From Marco Asensio to Rodrigo Goz, Eden Hazard, Mariano Diaz, Gareth Bale, and even Isco can get the chance today. Although the table is 4-3-3, leaving the main striker alone at the top, two wings came down and Real Madrid made the table much 4-5-1. From Madrid to Cruz, Casimiro, Alaba in the back, Vinicius in the front — everyone is good at ball. That’s why the Real Madrid players have a good understanding when exchanging passes between themselves. And the kind of tactics that players are comfortable playing with, Ancelotti has always been the dominant one.
As a result, Real Madrid is being played by Ancelotti in a tactic where they can exchange each other quickly and get up on every attack in a very short time. Since Vinicius at the top is very dynamic, he is also good at dribbling, so Real wants to play every attack-dependent football with the ball at Vinicius’ feet as soon as possible. And for that strategy, having a striker like Benzema is very important. Benzema occasionally came down, removing one or two of the opponent’s defenders, leaving wings like Vinicius in the gap. Cruz went down to the center back row to send the ball from behind at the feet of Vinicius. Barcelona defenders have to keep an eye on this aspect today.
In that great match of the second leg of the Champions League against PSG, one of Ancelotti’s tactics was to give two wings Vinicius and Asensio (later Rodrigo) a license to enter the opponent’s D-box and give at least one fullback the upper hand (mainly Carvajal). Because two PSG wingers Messi and Neymar were going down in the middle, not playing along the sidelines. As a result, the caravan did not need to keep an eye on any winger. Real’s two center-backs David Alaba and their accomplices were also working to hold Messi and Neymar together.