Lack of rotation by Carlo Ancelotti is starting to hurt Real Madrid I see no reason for rotations right now, I think the team are fine, said Carlo Ancelotti after Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Atletico Madrid. The team is doing well physically. There are some players who must get better though. Although Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos have played more than anyone, because they are important, they are fine physically. For 45 minutes against Getafe on Sunday, Real Madrid looked anything but fine. The eventual 3-0 scoreline embellished the overall performance but the victory was only the second picked up in five matches by Ancelottis side in 2015. REAL MADRID LATEST - Laudrup warns Odegaard over Madrid move - Pepe out with rib injury - Reus agent: No agreement with Madrid - FC TV: Madrid to face investigation similar to Barcelona? - World Beater: Ronaldo wins again - Ballon dOr: Marcotti says Ronaldo deserved it - Infographic: Ronaldos year In mitigation the fixture was Reals first lunchtime away kick-off to be broadcast in colour and the pitch at Getafe is hardly the snooker table baize of the Bernabeu, but Real were sluggish and failed to create much in the first half. Of perhaps more concern for Ancelotti was how Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez reacted to the home sides runners when Getafe sought to hit on the counter; both incurred yellows for hauling back an opponent when their legs had failed them. Still, Rodriguez played the full 90 minutes and Kroos, who has only been rested this season against Cornella in the cup while also playing all but 29 minutes of Germanys six matches since the World Cup, was brought off with nine minutes remaining. The amount of games Kroos has played in the last 18 months is staggering; the midfielder even said as far back as Nov. 27 after the Champions League clash with Basel that he was exhausted: I had no rest in the summer. I am not used to playing so much. And over here it does not stop in January like in Germany. Real Madrids struggles in 2015 are due to Ancelottis unwillingness to rotate. Kroos has racked up 1,561 minutes of a possible 1,620 in La Liga this season. In all competitions he has played 2,555 minutes, more than any other squad member including even Cristiano Ronaldo, albeit by a little over half an hour. Rodriguezs injury gave the Colombian a brief respite but Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have still played more than any member of the defence or even Iker Casillas. Ancelotti has often promised rotation but seems extremely reluctant to hand responsibility to any of the other players at his disposal. How much will this hurt down the stretch? Fabio Coentrao has been hampered by injury but has started just seven games in all competitions while Nacho has 605 minutes under his belt from 13 (mostly substitute) appearances. But it is in midfield that Real is currently struggling and the reason is patently obvious: Ancelotti simply doesnt rate either Sami Khedira or Asier Illarramendi, whose performance against Borussia Dortmund in last seasons Champions League quarterfinals seems to be the Italians point of reference. Although Khedira has also suffered from a series of injuries, he has only featured for twice the amount of time this season than Xabi Alonso. Two-thirds of Khediras playing time has come in the Copa, while the defensive midfielder has in total managed just over 90 minutes in the course of the 10 league matches he has been available for. Illarramendi is healthy but Ancelottis lack of faith is causing fatigue within his squad. Illarramendis numbers are even more desperate: the full 90 minutes in both legs against Cornella and the Champions League dead rubber against Ludogorets, plus three full Liga matches against Celta, Elche and Almeria. Faint praise indeed. Its no secret that Ancelotti was far from pleased by Alonsos departure yet he has made no moves in the market to compensate for it. Kroos could clearly do with a rest, especially as in the absence of Luka Modric he is on his own at the base of midfield. Isco and Rodriguez have made some strides in the defensive aspect, but their natural attacking instincts leave the German with too much to cover on his own. After the cup defeat last week, Real sought to spin the positives and chief among these is the removal of a draining Copa double header against Barcelona over the next two weeks. What was billed as a January from the bowels of hell now consists of just two fixtures, away at lowly Cordoba and at home to Real Sociedad -- a match that should be a lot more comfortable given the form of David Moyes side than the return fixture was. Real have the talent to beat most opponents but fatigue will hurt against big rivals. Now that Real are fighting on just two fronts, la Liga and the Champions League, Ancelotti has a chance to shuffle his pack over the next two weeks and hand some much needed R&R to key players (especially Kroos) ahead of the rescheduled Sevilla fixture on Feb. 4. Otherwise, it is time to force the boards hand. Having reconsidered the idea of rotating his first-choice 11, perhaps the Italian might also renege on his statement that there will be no movement in the market this month. If Khedira and Illarramendi cant be entrusted to keep Cordoba and la Real at bay, what is the point of keeping them? Its no measure of the season as a whole, of course, but Barcelona moved to within a point of Real with one of their best performances to date at Depor on Sunday; it was also the first time in 28 games that Luis Enrique had fielded the same team twice in succession. Diego Simeone has been equally sparing with some of his big names. The second half of the season is where the chips fall, and despite all the fanfare about winter champions, Reals 22-game winning streak is merely a piece of trivia. Atletico and Barça are as fresh as a spring morning. Unless Ancelotti uses his squad in the coming weeks, March may be a step too far.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 07:29:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015