New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid career is seemingly heading towards an end at the end of the season, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso said to be Los Blancos’ frontrunner for the Italian’s replacement.
As per a report by Spanish outlet Relevo, Ancelotti’s Real Madrid tenure, which has been on the fringes for months, is all but sealed to end at the conclusion of the ongoing season, barring the Italian head coach pulling out another miracle to turn the season around.
Former Madrid midfielder Alonso has transformed Leverkusen since his arrival and ended Bayern Munich’s 11-year dominance in the Bundesliga when he led the side to their first ever league title without losing a single game in the 2023-24 domestic season.
Coming into the season with the much-awaited arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid were expected to be their dominant self, especially considering they possessed the most lethal attacking trio in football.
While heading into the 0-3 loss against Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, Ancelotti was asked if the fans were getting tired of him. The 65-year-old claimed he had the full backing of Florentino Perez, saying “the most important man” is happy with his performance.
“I don’t know. Maybe people are tired, but the important thing is that the most important person isn’t. He’s happy with me, he helps me and supports me. What might change the dynamic is that the most important person at this club doesn’t get tired of it,” Ancelotti had said in the pregame conference.
Despite the potent attack, creative midfield and gritty defense Real Madrid have hardly been up to their dominant self. They have had to endure two humiliating defeats at the hands of their biggest rivals FC Barcelona, a 0-4 and 2-5 defeat in the La Liga and Supercopa de Espana final, respectively.
Real Madrid are currently four points behind the Catalonian side in La Liga standings and will travel to Estadio de La Cartuja for the away league clash in May and will also have to face Barca in the final of the Copa del Rey later this month.
That being said, if any club can pull off a miracle comeback from three goals down, it is Real Madrid. History has never been too kind to teams that have ruled out the Los Blancos before the end of the tie, and the Gunners will have to give it their all despite holding the massive advantage heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next Thursday.
Real Madrid have lost the first leg of a major European tie by three goals or more on six occasions previously but have recovered to progress in three of those clashes.
–IANS
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