ESPN FC’s Gabriele Marcotti breaks down Real Madrid’s draw to Villarreal, and what that means for the La Liga title race.
The knives were out for manager Carlo Ancelotti after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw Sunday night against an under-strength Villarreal side. Madrid had not dropped league points on home soil since losing to Atletico Madrid in September and were up against a side fielding their second string in all but name.
Top scorer Luciano Vietto was rested, captain Bruno Soriano was injured and creative spark Denis Cheryshev was not allowed to play against his parent club, owing to the terms of his loan deal. Marcelino fielded just four of the starting 11 that lined up against Salzburg in the Europa League three days before and Villarreal also had one eye on Wednesday’s big Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Barcelona. Madrid, sitting pretty at the top of the table and with a full week of preparation behind them, were expected to breeze it.
The only breeze that prevailed at the Bernabeu was that of a thrilling end-to-end encounter, especially in the second half. Barcelona boss Luis Enrique may have sighed at the Villarreal starting 11, but those 11 gave Madrid one of their toughest matches of the season. The gap at the top was cut to two points and the anger from the stands was vented in the direction of the manager.
It was not only because of the dropped points — points that many presumed to be in the bag after the visitors’ lineup was announced. The loudest jeers of the night did not come at the final whistle, nor at Gerard Moreno’s second-half leveler, but when the fourth official raised his board with the No. 23 up in lights. Nobody wanted to see Madrid’s man of the moment withdrawn, but the whistles intensified when the more defensive Asier Illarramendi replaced him. Ancelotti was playing to at least make sure of the point.
“Ancelotti out” were some of the shouts from Madrid fans leaving the Bernabeu, as replayed on late night Spanish television programme “El Chiringuito.” “Second warning” was the headline from Spanish sports daily Marca, insisting those high up at the Bernabeu were not happy with he way things were going. The Italian may have Madrid at the top of the table and with one foot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, as well as a quartet of trophies led by the club’s 10th European Cup last year, but he is, rightly or wrongly, under some pressure. The pressure on Sunday night, however, seemed a little out of place.
Ancelotti will be well accustomed to the high demands of the Santiago Bernabeu by now and the criticism for his substitution choice on Sunday will be like water off a duck’s back. The Italian has repeated his belief that this season’s campaign will go right down until the last game of the season and that belief was firmly at the front of his mind in the 78th minute of Sunday’s clash with the Yellow Submarines when he made the controversial change.
Moreno’s equaliser had already prompted an attacking swap with Jese replacing Lucas Silva and Ancelotti wanted more balance to his side in a game that could have gone either way. Villarreal may have an exciting starting 11, but they also have an exciting manager who has a talented squad at his disposal. The outrage at the outcome of the match and the decisions of the coach were a slight at this impressive Villarreal squad as much as they were a criticism of Ancelotti and his men.
The Bernabeu was not exactly enthusiastic to see Asier Illarramendi replace Isco late in the second half of Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal.
In the heat of the moment, Madrid were desperate for the three points and the majority ended up seeing a draw in the same light as a defeat. At the end of the season, that draw could end up helping Madrid win their first title for three years and Ancelotti had that in mind when he hooked his current star man for one who is heading for the exit door in the summer. It was simply to offer balance and more defensive stability.
Given how tight last season’s title race was, every point counts. The way Sunday night’s match had progressed from a seemingly lifeless and predictable home win into an end-to-end encounter that could have handed the three points to either side, Ancelotti made a call that should not have been met with such uproar and disgust.
The substitution came just after Vietto had a golden opportunity to give the visitors the lead, only for him to slip at the crucial moment when through on goal — not long after Iker Casillas had to go full stretch to deny Villarreal’s 11-goal Argentine striker on a previous chance. Although Madrid had the lion’s share of the possession and the chances, it was far from one-way traffic, and Ancelotti’s fear of ending up with nothing was somewhat justified.
It also came not long before Jese Rodriguez had a great chance of his own to win it for Madrid. Sergio Asenjo, a rock in goal for the Castellon club, made a rare error and dropped the ball at the feet of the Madrid academy product, who could only poke it wide with the goal at his mercy. The miss was a big one but Jese came out of it largely unscathed.
Few will pour their hearts out toward a club that has assembled the most expensive squad in La Liga history, but Ancelotti’s options from the bench at the weekend were not exceptional in an attacking sense. Jese has yet to show the excitement of when he burst onto the scene a year ago since returning from injury, and the acquisition of Javier Hernandez has question marks hanging over it. With James Rodriguez and Luka Modric still sidelined, Ancelotti had few other options to call on — namely defensive trio Alvaro Arbeloa, Fabio Coentrao and Nacho, as well as goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Compare that to Barcelona’s options of Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Rafinha, who all came on in the 3-1 win at Granada. Andres Iniesta was unused.
Question marks have arisen over Ancelotti’s use of his squad and the substitutions he makes, but he is in a privileged position where Madrid rarely find themselves having to change things to chase the game. His most common change is to introduce Illarramendi late on to help close the game out, usually at the expense of Isco, and while he does not give confidence to the Basque midfielder from the off, he trusts him late on in games.
When Ancelotti has been forced into making changes of a more attacking nature, more often than not they have worked out. The introduction of Isco and Marcelo for Sami Khedira and Fabio Coentrao in last season’s Champions League final helped to eventually swing the game in Madrid’s favour, and one example from this campaign came in the 2-1 win at Ludogorets when Benzema scored the winner after replacing Hernandez. Maybe, just maybe, his much-criticised change on Sunday will work in Madrid’s favour come the end of the season.
Nicholas Rigg writes about Real Madrid for ESPN FC and blogs about La Liga for The Independent. You can follow him on Twitter @nicholasrigg.