Real Madrid faced Milan, Man Utd, Barca and Juve in USA and managed to get two victories with the first two but unfortunately could not get any positive results against the last two. In the summer tour it was seen a Real Madrid with ups and downs mostly regarding the actual results, as for the other part the team was seen as fairly organized and able to produce many chances. However the final steps have been quite problematic (even why often hit by bad luck), with the team unable to turn clear occasions in goals. Another thing to be looked at was also the physical aspect which saw Madrid outperform the opponents most of the time but also showing some signs of fatigue as the tour progressed towards the end.
About the tactics, Ancelotti seems to have adapted the 4-3-1-2 formation which theoretically provides stability and compactness to the team despite sacrificing a bit from Vini Jr who will be “forced” not to use very much his movements on the wing as he is playing a more central position partnering with Rodrygo. On the other hand it seems to have given a more natural positioning to the midfielders. Ancelotti has found the most suitable alignment considering the players he has in his orders and the team’s needs for stability, despite the arguments that the goal-conceding toll was high. It will be an interesting thing to see during the season as the adaption to this formation will surely take its time. However, the goals conceded came in many cases from individual mistakes and lack of attention and when you play against such big teams mistakes are almost always punitive.
So, Ancelotti will prioritize physical work over tactics despite the number of goals conceded during the pre-season. Reaching the full physical potential will also make players more focused and clear while keeping them aware that they are strong enough to overturn the results even if fatal mistakes happen. As always, the Italian has called for support the physical coach, Pintus, who has focused on getting the players fit before the season. While the new module may still need some calibration which will be achieved during the next weeks, the last week of pre-season ahead of the league debut against Athletic Club at San Mamés will be largely physical instead: the priority is doing well what he knows how to do quickly.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke about these aspects at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando after the Juventus-Real Madrid clash. The coach analyzed his team’s fourth game of the summer tour while making an overall assessment of the time spent is USA: “It has been a positive pre-season and in the games we've played we've displayed different qualities. One was very good and the other was in terms of defense, which we need to improve. The team isn't used to defending in a diamond formation. We conceded a lot of goals against Juventus and Barcelona. We lacked balance and we need to fix that”.
He continued: “The defensive aspect is the easiest to improve because it's a problem of positioning, focus and attitude. We were good and aggressive when pressing, but we were weak in the low block. It's been quite clear in the last two games. Moving the block back might be an option to take into account. But I'll take the good things and the chances we created in attack”.
Things to improve: “In pre-season we might not be able to score because the team is tired, as we have travelled a lot. We don't have all the freshness that a striker needs to have when it comes to scoring. But Vinicius positioned himself very well both inside and outside the box and scored a fantastic goal. Offensively there are no problems, but defensively we have to sort it out. There are things we have to try in this period and it has been quite clear what we need to fix things”.
Vinicius’s position: “He doesn't find it difficult to play on the inside. He has handled the position very well. Today he had some difficulty on the inside, so he went wide and that's where he started to create danger. He's improving”.
Fran García: “Fran García played really well and he's got a lot of energy because he gets to the byline really well and puts in good crosses. He's a reliable player, but he needs to improve. It's not an individual problem, it's a collective problem. He has to get better defensively”.
Güler: “It's quite hard to talk about a medical aspect, but it's not too serious. It's a small problem in the meniscus and we're assessing whether to have a conservative treatment or surgery”.
Against Barcelona, Xavi recognized that “Madrid have the most physical squad in the world” - and he is not the only one. Ancelotti knows what he has at his disposal and he will use their physical qualities to get the best result in the Basque Country. With that in mind, the oxygen masks will make their return at the Real Madrid training camp. The masks allow the technical staff to measure output and detect the maximum volume of oxygen that the players use when being under physical stress. For Madrid, they are seen as a very useful tool when it comes to delegating work and planning specialized training schemes for the players.
The infamous physical coach, Pintus, has returned this summer, a man who Militão joked “was not a good person” in Los Angeles; “he’s killing us”, said Valverde, shortly before. Pintus’ work has definitely had an effect during pre-season training, but the long timetable of flights, games and recovery, have made the scheduling somewhat difficult. This is why the technical staff have gone back to more physical work now the team is back in Madrid ahead of the first game of LaLiga. Ancelotti wants to take advantage of the the Madrid squad seen this summer and get on the front foot in terms of physical output. The four-day mega-physical pre-season plan at the training ground has taken over tactics as the Italian coach gets ready to go all-out in Bilbao.
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