“We need defensive commitment, that includes the four up front”– Ancelotti

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has proclaimed that he does not need to drop one of his star-studded quartet up front in order to balance out the team. Los Blancos have struggled in big games this season, and many have suggested that it will be difficult for them to defend well with Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes all in the starting line-up.

Ancelotti has mentioned collective and defensive commitment regularly over the past two to three months, and noted that he needed it again ahead of their top of the table clash with Atletico Madrid in the city derby.

“The collective commitment in defence gives you a solidity that, if you have it, it means that even if those up front aren’t effective, you can get a result. The top four have about 60 goals, a lot for this stage of the season. Obviously defensive solidity is not just the effort of those at the back, but a collective effort. That includes the four up front.”

After their struggles against Barcelona, AC Milan and Liverpool, many have pointed to the heavy offensive artillery unbalancing the side.

“Don’t know. Sometimes there has been a bit of a lack of balance, that’s true. And some will think that removing someone from up front will solve the problem. But it is not like that. The defensive problem belongs to everyone, including the forwards. It is a collective thing. And many forget that we have lost key players, like Carvajal or Militao. And, despite that, we are fighting in all competitions.”

“Rudiger and Alaba will return soon, but let no one forget that we have lost very important defenders in this stretch of the season. Hopefully soon we can recover normality, because I would like Tchouameni to return to being a pivot, Alaba as a centre-back, Carvajal lateral… but we are handling an emergency. And, as I said, not everything is fixed, but we have obtained some results. And we are top of the table,” Ancelotti noted pointedly.

Ancelotti was asked whether he was capable of convincing all four of his star forwards to work defensively. The question came off the back of an on-field argument between Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric, where the Brazilian ignores his captain’s demands to drop back initially.

“Yes, I am capable of doing so. I will do that. We’re not just talking about the four up front though, it’s the whole team, we have to be of the same mind, and we’re convinced that we are able to do so, and to fix it. Obviously it’s a very important aspect for tomorrow, because we play a team that is one of the best in that regard.”

As the least high-profile of the four, Rodrygo has frequently been pointed to as the one that would drop out, if there was to be a switch. Something Ancelotti denied.

“He is enjoying a very important role in the team. And he will have one. He possesses enormous quality, like so many others. I don’t think that to find balance I have to remove forwards, I don’t have that opinion.”

Presumably Ancelotti will back up his words by starting all four of Rodrygo, Vinicius, Mbappe and Bellingham. The question at that remains as to whether they will all play as they have done in recent months, leaving two in midfield, or whether Ancelotti will drop Bellingham or Rodrygo deeper.