Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is demanding a major turnaround from his team as they gear up for their first home game of the La Liga season against Valladolid on Sunday, which will also mark Kylian Mbappe’s debut at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ancelotti was visibly frustrated after last weekend’s lackluster 1-1 draw at Mallorca, telling reporters, “We needed to do better and show more attitude.”
Mbappe and most of Real’s so-called “New Galacticos” delivered a dreary performance at Mallorca, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making crucial saves to salvage a point.
“It was a game we could have lost because we didn’t have balance,” Ancelotti said. “It wasn’t a good game. We are a very attacking team, and defensive balance is a fundamental part of the way we are built.”
Against Mallorca, and in their UEFA Super Cup 2-0 win against Atalanta last week, the Italian manager started Mbappe in a central role as a forward, just in front of a three-man line formed by wingers Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, with Jude Bellingham, and only two pure midfielders in Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.
With the departure of German midfielder Toni Kroos, who retired after a remarkable decade with the Spanish giants, Ancelotti decided he was better off sacrificing stability in the center of the pitch to gain more firepower in attack.
However, against Mallorca and for a large part of the Atalanta clash, Mbappe was not the impact player he was expected to be, and Real were vulnerable to counterattacks, suggesting they may need to work harder than anticipated to integrate their blockbuster signing into the squad.
“We struggled to press and regain possession after losing the ball,” Ancelotti said. “Defending is a collective commitment. The balance is found when players are focused on the same objective. It’s an issue of a team that did not grasp that this was a key aspect of the match.”
Under the shiny new roof that will shield a sold-out crowd from the relentless sun on a scorching summer afternoon in Madrid, Real face newly promoted Valladolid, who are fired up after kicking off their campaign with a deserved win against Espanyol.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona also began the season well, with a Robert Lewandowski double allowing them to come from behind to win 2-1 at Valencia, despite missing several key players and featuring three 17-year-olds from the start of last Saturday’s game.
Coach Flick will still be unable to count on new signing Dani Olmo, who has yet to be registered with La Liga due to Barca’s breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, for Saturday’s match against last year’s Copa del Rey champions, Athletic Bilbao.
Barca is racing against the clock to try to negotiate the sale of players such as Vitor Roque, İlkay Gündoğan, or Clement Lenglet so they can improve their balance sheet and be allowed to register the versatile attacking midfielder who stood out at Euro 2024, helping Spain win the title.
In Madrid on Sunday, Atletico will host last year’s surprise package, Girona, after both sides were held to draws in disappointing opening matches last weekend.
Manager Diego Simeone will have new signings Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher at his disposal.
