It seems that Real Madrid - the Spanish and European champions - abandoned the wrong midfielder last summer, and the impact of the exclusion from the Qatar World Cup is still present on a number of players.
"We are Real Madrid," says Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, after the heavy 3-1 loss in El Clasico against Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup last Sunday.
But Ancelotti's words did not translate this season, although Real Madrid used to have the upper hand over Barca in recent years, after the end of the World Cup his level declined dramatically, so he won only two out of 5 matches he played, and even victory in these two matches was not disguised.
There is no doubt that fatigue is a decisive factor, especially in a season crowded with dozens of matches, but there are elements whose repercussions on the performance of the royal team cannot be ruled out:
The first of which is the sale of the Brazilian Casemiro last summer, and allowing him to leave for Manchester United, where the player of the “Seleção” team presents a fabulous level with the Red Devils, and it is one of the reasons for the football revolution in “Old Trafford” in the recent matches.
Karim Benzema, the captain of the team, has declined, both physically and technically.
Relying mainly on Luka Modric (37 years) and Toni Kroos (33 years), whose level has declined recently, and it was clear that they were unable to keep up with Pedri and Gavi, the two young Barcelona players in the Spanish Super Final.
Despite contracting with the French Tchoameni and Camavinga, Real had to keep Casemiro for as long as possible.
Ftshwamini is an upcoming talent and he has a lot to learn, while Camavinga made two mistakes that caused Barcelona's goals in the first half of the El Clasico.
Fede Valverde, whose brilliance before the Qatar World Cup was one of the reasons that encouraged the "Merengue" administration to sell Casemiro so quickly, he returned to miss his level and no longer provided what was expected of him, and even Dani Ceballos and Nacho Fernandez did not have the football quality that would enable them to fill the void of Casemiro's departure.
Ancelotti's style became exposed to the competing teams, and despite that, the veteran coach did not intervene to modify the plan, and he watched his players lose El Clasico to Barca in performance and result.
The level of right-back Dani Carvajal (32 years) declined after he lost his speed, grace and decisive passes, and it seemed clear that Barcelona players Baldi and Gavi outperformed him and it was a clear gap in Real, and through it allowed Barca to launch attacks and score goals, and it seems that Real will think seriously - in the coming days - In search of a young player to replace the Spanish international.
The level of Vinicius Junior, who was one of the best players in the world last season, and led his team to victory in the Champions League, but he did not score or make any goals in the last 5 matches, and it seems that he was greatly affected by the exit of his country, Brazil - who was one of the most prominent candidates for victory. With the title - from the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.