02:45 November 28, Real Madrid - Galatasaray: Alonso, Isco and Ancelotti's innovation

Abandoning the smooth-running 4-3-3 to revert to a 4-2-3-1, Real Madrid enjoyed immediate success with a win at Almeria. A simple stop-gap solution opened the way to victory.

When Real's style of play was shaped into a 4-3-3 formation, with three midfielders occupying the midfield, shielding the defense and attacking quickly thanks to the "BBC trident", disaster struck. Khedira, who played well with Xabi Alonso, suffered a long-term injury and the situation forced Ancelotti to switch to a 4-2-3-1. In this old (used at the beginning of the season) but new (in terms of personnel) tactic, Real was still fine. And the victory was still overwhelming in the context of Cristiano Ronaldo not playing the full 90 minutes.

With Alonso, everything will be fine

There is a fundamental difference between the 4-2-3-1 of September and the 4-2-3-1 of late November: Xabi Alonso. See

Alonso

With Alonso playing, it felt like it didn’t matter if Real played 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, as long as he was there, everything would be fine. It took a decade after Fernando Redondo left for Club Blanco to find such a good rhythm and control specialist. With the Basque midfielder on the pitch, Real could play with 2 or 3 holding midfielders. It was Alonso who suggested playing with 2 “pivots” and it was he who chose Illarra as his partner. They formed a good duo and Alonso alone won the ball back 7 times.

Alonso's return has created a tactical revolution. Real's style of play is more flexible, diverse and unpredictable. The midfielder, who just celebrated his 32nd birthday, is like a version of Ancelotti at his peak. If Arrigo Sacchi made his name at Milan thanks to Ancelotti, Ancelotti also needs people like Alonso. "Carlo is not very fast with his feet but he is faster than anyone in the head", Sacchi once said about Ancelotti and Ancelotti can now say the same about Alonso. "With Pirlo, I don't need to tell us how to play and neither does Xabi".

Carletto is like a friend to the players, always understanding. In every conversation, he will listen and speak last. That personality helps him get along quickly with Alonso. The No. 14 midfielder has just announced that he will stop negotiating with Juventus and Chelsea to extend his contract for another 2 years. Ancelotti will still have "Professor" Alonso, who according to him "always sees the game clearly before the ball rolls".

Bullet breaks Isco

By removing a defensive midfielder, Carlo Ancelotti has created an attacking version and that is the opportunity.

Isco

for Isco. Freed from the defensive role (which he reluctantly assumed in the match against Copenhagen), the 21-year-old midfielder was returned to his preferred “number 10” position. The difference was immediate. Isco played the full 90 minutes for the first time in 2 months, assisted 2 goals and scored one himself.

For a player as young as Isco, the past two months of pressure have not been easy. He has gone 62 days without scoring (his last goal was against Getafe on September 22). He has been an unwilling spectator in the most important matches: the first “clasico” match, the match against Juventus in Turin and did not play a single minute when Real visited Vallecano.

It was a clear waste of talent to drop Isco deep to share the defensive duties of a man who was born to play behind the striker. Fortunately, Alonso came to his rescue. In his natural position, Isco found his teammates. He played 15 passes with Illarramendi and 13 with Alonso against Almeria. He spoke to Gareth Bale 10 times through the ball, one of which led to a goal. And he set up Ronaldo for his goal with just three minutes on the clock.

With Alonso and Isco, Ancelotti must probably thank God for giving him such good players.

Prediction: 2-0

According to Sports & Culture