Real Madrid aren’t going through their best period. It feels as if La Décima was won decades ago, yet it was only a little over a hundred days ago. Despite Xabi Alonso leaving near the end of the transfer window, the club decided not to sign any replacements. This immediately seemed fine, until Sami Khedira suffered an injury this week. The German midfielder will be out for six to eight weeks.
If you look at Madrid’s bench, you don’t see too many men that could provide strength in the midfield. Carlo Ancelotti continued to trust the 4-3-3 against Sociedad. While it did work for roughly 25 minutes, that won’t do for the big games. With that in mind, here are some options that could help the Italian assemble the squad and hit the jackpot again. There’s life after the 4-3-3, and these options prove it.
4-4-2
In arguably the team’s brightest match last season, Los Blancos burned down the Allianz Arena. The second leg of the Champions League semi-final ended up with a brilliant 0-4 win. Bayern’s defensive struggles were definitely one of the factors that caused it. However, if we focus on Madrid’s strengths on that match, we’ll see something enlightening.
When going forward, the team was clearly a 4-3-3, with Xabi staying further back to help the defense. Di María and Modrić provided the BBC the ability to shine and finish counterattacks. On the other hand, if we look at how they defended, we saw the team shifting to a 4-4-2. This gave Alonso more help in the center, Di María covered the left wing and Bale the right one.
This match was also brilliant because of all the sacrifice that the men up top did. This proves that when a team acts as one, it shines. In the Copa Del Rey final, we saw something similar, as everyone helped out in defense and kept the lines close together. This formation would force Ronaldo to work closer to the center, instead of the wing. In addition, Bale would have to be further back and be more of a right midfielder.
The ideal lineup for this system, excluding the injured men, would look like this:
4-2-3-1
A prominent system during the early Mourinho era. The system gives the team more creativity in the final third, strength in the midfield and freedom to the wingers. Ancelotti planned to keep the 4-3-3 and put Khedira instead of James. The hefty price tag from the Colombian immediately “forces” the Italian to make room for him. This is the best formation for him.
Nobody will be able to replicate the job that Di María did. Nevertheless, there’s enough talent in the squad to keep playing great football. James has struggled to play from the wing and help out in defense. Carlo demands that their players maintain a good balance between offense and defense. Modrić and Kroos are more used to coming from further back, which makes James the ideal one to be exonerated from defensive duties.
This system would cause Luka and Toni to shine less, but James’ talent as a #10 would settle the score. Ronaldo and Bale wouldn’t need to go back as often, therefore exploiting their potential to score goals and create chances. However, it’s good to point out that in certain matches, the striker could become isolated. Despite this, it’s another option to be given a chance.
The ideal lineup for this system, excluding the injured men, would look like this:
