The Italian achieved his seventh consecutive victory against Athletic Club.
The victory of Real Madrid against Athletic Club, the seventh in a row between LaLiga Santander and the Champions League, It already shapes the third best record of Italian Carlo Ancelotti as a Madrid coach, road of ten successes in a row that he achieved in his first season and still far from the record of up to 22 who signed in 2014.
“The streak is good and we have a very high confidence,” said Ancelotti, valuing the moment of Real Madrid, the outstanding leader of LaLiga, with a 7-point cushion over their pursuers (Atlético de Madrid with one game to play against Granada) , and mathematically classified for the last 16 of the ‘Champions’, in the absence of a match to be disputed that will dictate the first place against Inter Milan.
Full of victories in November
The triumphs in the five games that Real Madrid has played in the month of November, against Rayo, Granada and Sevilla plus Shakhtar and Sheriff in the Champions League, added to the match won in Elche with which October closed and against Athletic with which December started, they leave Ancelotti’s team with the possibility of landing a blow to LaLiga before the Christmas holidays.
The full number of points in the last 15 disputed, allow the Madrid team to face their matches against direct rivals such as Real Sociedad and Atlético de Madrid with a greater degree of confidence and with a network in case a streak that is already Ancelotti’s third best in the two and a half years he has changed. occupied the white bench in its two stages. Together with the duels against Cádiz and, again, Athletic, they present the opportunity to strike a blow at the League.
In his first year he reached ten consecutive wins between December 18, 2013, the day he made his debut in the Copa del Rey against the Olímpic, and February 2 that was cut with a draw in San Mamés against Athletic Club.
That streak had a minor significance since five of the victories came in a Copa del Rey that was played back and forth since their first tie. The other five games, in the League, did not help him reach the title that has resisted him in his two attempts.
The defeats in the month of March in the classic and at home to Sevilla, prevented the way to a title that the Italian coach did not achieve in his second campaign, despite leaving a record for history, linking 22 victories.
The season had started with two defeats in three days, against Atlético de Madrid and Real Sociedad, when Real Madrid reacted by winning everything from September 16, 2014 to December 20, when they defeated San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup final. and proclaimed himself champion.
That record streak in the history of Spanish football left six victories in the Champions League, twelve in the League, two in the Copa del Rey and two in the Club World Cup. However, 2015 started in the worst possible way, falling at the Mestalla and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Atlético de Madrid, which also emerged victorious in a League that escaped adding the defeats of the classic and San Mamés.
Short-term priority
Those lessons from the past do not mark the decisions of Ancelotti who, despite the heavy schedule and facing a game every three days, discard rotations. He has reduced his ‘circle of confidence’ to just 15 players and makes no more than one or two changes to his starting team per game.
The Italian coach gives priority to the short term, with the aim of spreading a positive dynamic and continuing to increase his points advantage, above evaluations of the physique of his players and the option of taking a long-term toll on veterans like Luka Modric , Toni Kroos or Karim Benzema.
“If I see a tired player, I change him, but I don’t want to change something that is going well for something that I have to assume. I am not going to give rest to a player who is not tired thinking about March ”, he made clear as a maximum in an appearance and he is fulfilling it.
In this way, players like Marcelo, Isco Alarcón, Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic or Mariano Díaz hardly receive opportunities and Ancelotti does not close the exit door of the club in the winter market for which he is not satisfied with his situation.
The Italian coach showed at the beginning of the season that he maintains full confidence in the Welshman Gareth Bale, whom he hopes to include in the rotations when he is recovered, and has been leaving messages with his decisions, which have been accompanied by a streak of results that already She is the third best at Real Madrid. (D)
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