COVID-19 turns Real Madrid’s starting eleven ‘upside down’

The eleven owner of Real Madrid turns upside down before the outbreak of coronavirus that the white dressing room suffers. Between Wednesday and Thursday, Madrid has reported seven positives in its first team: Modric, Marcelo, Lunin (who repeats, was already infected months ago), Bale, Rodrygo, Asensio and the assistant coach, Davide Ancelotti. Therefore, Carletto will not be able to count on six footballers from the first team; he will have to make do with the other 19 for the duels against Cádiz and Ahletic, on 19 and 22 respectively.

They are not the only casualties Ancelotti has; Nor can he count, for the moment, on Carvajal, with muscular discomfort, or Ceballos, in the final stretch of his recovery. And in the white club There is nervousness about what the tests that are done in the following days can show, since Lunin, Bale, Rodrygo and Asensio exercised with their companions on Wednesday, at a time when they could already be contagious, so new positives are not ruled out.

That these six players will miss the duel against Cádiz this Sunday at the Bernabéu is certain; there is no physical time for them to get over the illness before grief. It is very difficult for them to get to Athletic, although not impossible. If someone tests negative before the match on the 22nd in San Mamés and he can exercise normally, he would have options.

In this matter, the Community of Madrid created some confusion in the last hours. Antonio Zapatero, Deputy Minister of Public Health, commented on the COPE Network that the protocol stated that the positives had to be confined for 10 days, even if they were negative in a PCR. But his superior, the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, explained on Radio Marca that, As they are players with the double vaccination schedule, they will be able to lose their definition without problems after obtaining a negative PCR test.

At the moment and with the known positives, Ancelotti’s problems go through two points: the midfield and the far right of the attack. Also the right side, where Carvajal is injured, but there Carletto has the option of Lucas Vázquez and also Nacho, in addition to the castillistas Santos and Marvin.

Valverde, Camavinga, Lucas, Hazard…

In the center of the field, the absence of Modric will break the medullary trident that he forms with Casemiro and Kroos, fundamental in the winning streak. Valverde and Camavinga are the main candidates to replace the Croatian, with the Uruguayan one point above the Franco-Angolan; Isco can also enter there, but it is difficult for him, because since he refused to continue warming up in Granada, he has not had minutes again.

And in attack, it remains to be seen who will accompany Vinicius and Benzema, and that is where Ancelotti now has a shortage of resources: Asensio and Rodrygo were competing for the position, with good performances by both, and Bale also had possibilities to start playing. But none of the three will be available, so everything indicates that they will have to play Lucas Vázquez or Hazard. The first would do it if he is not aligned as a right back; the second would change bands, because he knows that with Vinicius it is difficult for him right now. But Ancelotti does not have more right now, it is that or move Benzema to a band to introduce Jovic at the top of the attack, something that seems very strange right now, with the French performing at the level that this course leads as the spearhead of the white team.