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Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Real Madrid returned to Spain earlier this week with extra baggage after sealing their first title of the season in Saudi Arabia. The win over their arch-rivals in the final helped Nacho Fernandez lay his hands on a first trophy as the captain, etching the team’s name in history once more.
Unfortunately for the men in white, they do not have long to celebrate. The clash against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey is just a stone’s throw away and will not be a simple encounter for the recently crowned champions by any means.
Carlo Ancelotti has several decisions to make on the night, both pertaining to tactics and personnel. Yet, it is only fitting that a derby decides who goes through to the next round of the competition.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
Soaring high and strong
The win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final gifted Real Madrid their first trophy of the season. More importantly, however, the result gave Los Blancos more reasons to believe in their quality than any other game this season.
Faced against their arch-rivals, Real Madrid were rampant at Al-Awwal Stadium on Sunday night. Xavi’s men did not stand a chance as Vinicius Jr. gave his side a two-goal cushion just over ten minutes into the game.
Just as it seemed like Barcelona were making their way back into the game through Robert Lewandowski’s stunner, the Brazilian inflicted a third blow before half-time. Rodrygo Goes put the final nail in the coffin with a composed finish around the hour mark.
The 4-1 scoreline took Los Blancos to paradise, giving them a taste of silverware and much-needed determination ahead of the business end of the season. More importantly, the manner in which they outclassed Barcelona only went on to prove their dominance at the highest level.
It is thus safe to say that Real Madrid are soaring high and strong, both in terms of sporting performance and mental fortitude. Ahead of the clash against Atletico Madrid, this will serve as a key ingredient that could help them get past a second elite opposition in as many games.
Midfield rotations
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Speaking to the media after the game against Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti detailed his selection in the middle of the park. After all, the manager is spoilt for choice in midfield and placed players like Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga on the bench for the final.
“Kroos was fresher and that’s why I chose him today for the starting eleven,” he said.
As revealed earlier today, the midfield is set to undergo a serious rotation ahead of the Copa del Rey clash midweek. Ancelotti will likely start both Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni on the bench, both of whom played a critical role against Barcelona.
Instead, Modric and Camavinga are expected to join Federico Valverde in midfield. This would preserve the team’s 4-4-2 diamond formation with the Frenchman taking the spot at the base of the midfield.
The Croatian superstar will join Valverde as the interior midfielder on the night while Jude Bellingham is expected to keep his place as the bonafide attacking midfielder in the setup.
Ancelotti’s decision to rotate the midfield is not only down to the sheer quality of the midfield players Real Madrid have in their possession but also because of the hectic schedule ahead.
With games coming in with little to no time to recuperate, adjusting players’ playing time is the right approach forward. After all, Modric and Camavinga are more than capable of replacing Kroos and Tchouameni and will be vital if the team are to get over the line tomorrow.
A gritty fight
The finale of the Spanish Super Cup, in theory, should have been the competition’s most gruelling battle. With silverware on the line, Barcelona were expected to give Los Blancos a real run for their money.
As it turns out, however, Real Madrid faced far more resistance from Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the competition than they did against Barcelona in the finale. It may appear appalling, but a deeper dive will reveal that it is not.
Los Rojiblancos, at one point, were better placed than Real Madrid to qualify for the finale of the Supercopa de Espana. Six minutes from the full-time whistle, they had a one-goal lead over Real Madrid and just had to hold on to qualify.
As Carlo Ancelotti’s men do so often, however, they pioneered a comeback and put two goals past Diego Simeone’s side in extra time to take home the slot in the finale.
The big takeaway from the semifinal clash was that Atletico Madrid are perhaps one of Real Madrid’s closest-matched opposition in Spain this season. The men in red and white inflicted upon Los Blancos their only loss of the season and came very close to repeating the feat last week.
Tomorrow’s clash, thus, will once again feature a gritty battle in all probability. Real Madrid will not have it easy to make it to the next round of the Spanish Cup, for Atleti will be looking to avenge last week’s defeat.