Surprise in Madrid: Ancelotti doesn’t want to tear the Alaba-Militao pairing, so Rüdiger is tried at left-back

Antonio Rüdiger came to Real Madrid as one of the best stoppers in the Premier League, so most fans expected the former Chelsea defender to work his way into the starting line-up in Spain. But it won’t be that easy.

While Chelsea fans were in no doubt that Rüdiger would not play in the starting line-up in his new job, there was not so much optimism in Spain.

After all, no coach likes to reach into the midfield if he doesn’t have to, especially conservative coaches like Carlo Ancelotti. And if the Alaba-Militao pairing wins you La Liga and the Champions League, why change it?

That’s why back in May, when Rüdiger’s arrival was clear, we were already wondering where he would actually go. It seemed that David Alaba would remember his time at Bayern Munich and move to left-back, freeing up a spot in the middle of the central formation for Rüdiger. But that won’t be the case.

In fact, Real Madrid went into their first preliminary match, El Clásico against Barcelona, with a rather surprising move. The Italian strategist kept the Alaba-Militao midfield pairing, but Rüdiger also appeared in the starting line-up, just in a different position. At left-back.

Although this surprised all Real fans, it was certainly no mistake. In fact, Rüdiger has to fight for his place at the moment, as Ancelotti made it clear after the game that he is happy with his stopper duo.

“I don’t want to tear apart last year’s Alaba-Militao stopper duo,” Ancelotti was heard saying in the post-match press conference. ” Alaba will only start at left-back if it is absolutely necessary,” the Italian added.

Ferland Mendy, who has been assured of a place in the starting line-up for the last two seasons, is also available at left-back.

At the moment, Rüdiger is the number 3 stopper who will wait for a chance, or he can also play at left back. It is also not impossible that Real would start with a defensive trio in some games, with Carvajal and Mendy, or Valverde, manning the flanks.

Source: Real Madrid, Twitter