In the 2023-24 season, Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back after last year’s disappointing La Liga campaign and comprehensive Champions League exit. But with the major loss of Karim Benzema and the Marquee signing of Jude Bellingham, Don Carlo Ancelotti has a lot to consider when preparing for the season, and from what we’ve seen so far, being bold might be an understatement for Ancelotti’s tactics.
The diamond is back
In pre-season, Real Madrid shifted to an entirely new system, the now rarely seen 4-4-2 Diamond, with Bellingham not as a midfield controller, but as a number 10. So the question is, how does this system work, and will it be able to take Real Madrid back to the top?
Before I talk specifically about the diamond, it’s useful to understand Ancelotti’s tactics more broadly and get an overview of his philosophy, because regardless of the shape on paper, in practice this is a very fluid system. As you probably know, Ancelotti is not a positional play coach, so when you see his players moving, they aren’t just rotating around a predefined structure, as you’d see from Guardiola or Arteta, instead, they’re given more autonomy to find and create space. So it’s quite common to see these midfielders stray pretty far from their starting positions and not resembling any coaching structure like described here:
Each possession is essentially unique and therefore unpredictable, it’s a system of principles rather than repeatable patterns. In the hands of elite players, particularly Crows, and Modric, those principles make Real Madrid a very good possession side. In the build-up, they often use that freedom to create numerical superiority.
So here, Modric has dropped into a right-back position, Tchouameni has also dipped into the back line, and Bellingham comes deep to receive.
The sheer numbers make this hard to press. And when Bellingham eventually does pick it up and switch into space, Vinicius and Rodrigo have both converged on the left touchline to continue that progression. And these kinds of very accessible, fluid possessions have become a staple of this team. Last year compared to the traditional possession kings, Barcelona, Real Madrid not only had more long possessions, but those possessions lasted longer and involved more passes, contributing to a more patient, control-heavy style overall.
Also Read: English Premier League 2023: How’s it Shaping Up?
Bellingham – Number 10
So Real Madrid has been and will continue to be very good on the ball. The question for this season is how effective can they be at putting it in the back of the net, especially in the absence of Benzema, who contributed to 25% of all Real Madrid’s goals last year. That’s 30 goals from an XG of 26.6. And I think that’s where this new system comes into play, specifically with the role of Bellingham at the tip of the diamond.
Now, what’s been interesting about Bellingham so far is that he’s being used less as a controlling force in midfield and more as a forward outlet. He’s been doing quite a lot of running in behind, and rather than getting his foot on the ball and dictating things, it’s notable just how often he’s making these runs, which I think is interesting. And for me Ancelotti’s tactics seem pretty evident that he’s putting quite a lot of faith in Bellingham, not just to be a tidy metronomic midfielder, but a major source of goals and assists in this team, shifting his focus to stretching the back line, getting into the box and making up for the loss of Benzema. So for those who watched my last video, this early version of Bellingham as a 10 looks more Raumdeuter than it does in Egnache.
A matter of Chemistry
Now, he will be much more than just a runner, and on a broader level, this system is all about the combinations between him and these forwards, Vinicius, Rodrigo, and whoever else. And it has the potential to be exciting. On the surface, the system is very simple. Both fullbacks hold the whip, there’s a single or double pivot behind the ball, and then significant freedom for the forwards to move and combine. And the success or failure of it will be based on the relationships between these players.
Now, that could take time to form. There are signs that they’re still learning each other’s movements and tendencies, which is completely normal. You wouldn’t say it’s entirely fluid just yet, but when it clicks, it does look very good. And the freedom to create overloads in forward areas as well as in buildup can be a major source of chance creation.
Raising Question Marks
But all of that said, there are question marks with the system. For example, will this hybrid forward roll get the best out of Vinicius Jr.? Does he have the movement and instincts to operate at times as a centre forward?
There is also the general question of goals and particularly box threats. When the ball goes wide, the only real focal point is Joselu, who signed from Espanyol. And although he had a good return last season and scored this glass in the preseason, it would be very surprising if he gave them the same level as Benzema, especially in the big moments. And then even in possession, which is certainly one of Madrid’s strengths, they still feel a little bit reliant on the qualities of Modric and Kroos.
So whether they can maintain the same level if you start phasing those players out is definitely up for debate. And if that wasn’t all enough, you’ve got the looming figure of Mbappe in the background. And while he solved the issue of the goal, it’s very unclear how he’d operate alongside Vinicius and it would probably spell the end of this midfield diamond entirely. So, as I said, it’s all pretty fascinating from Ancelotti.
I do think Real Madrid has the potential to play some of the best football in Europe, but the actual effectiveness of it in the upcoming season remains to be seen. So let’s now turn our attention to Real Madrid out of possession, because to be honest, that’s what I think hurt the most in the crucial moments last season. And some interesting tweaks are being seen in Ancelotti’s tactics.
The Hybrid Press
There are a lot of potential talking points with this defensive system, and until the season starts we won’t have a full picture of how effective it will be. But I do want to briefly mention Madrid’s new pressing structure, which is again this 4-4-2 diamond. And it is on the surface a very modern hybrid pressing system. What that essentially means is that it starts zonal, where players stand in between markers, but then shifts to a man-to-man approach after a specific trigger, which is often a ball out wide to a fullback.
The team squeezes high up the pitch and tries to win the ball back before the opponent can access the space behind. Again, it’s too early to judge the intensity and discipline of this, but it does at least look like Ancelotti wants to be more aggressive this season in his tactics and the good team playstyle because they were much too passive last year and they lost control of a lot of games because of that.
The Defensive Dice Game
However, what I want to talk about is Madrid’s low block, because they are going to have to defend deep at times, and in this regard, they haven’t changed too much from last season. What Ancelotti tends to do, which is unique these days, is leave two or even three players outside of their defensive block, defending in a 4-4 or even sometimes a 4-3 shape, which is rare as teams are becoming more and more compact when defending deep.
A 4-3 low-block shape adopted by Madrid against Juventus
But it is by design by Ancelotti. The obvious upside is that Real Madrid retains one of the best counterattacks in the world. The immediate outlet of those forwards, plus sometimes a number 10 to connect the dots, can make for a lightning-quick transition, which is a major benefit, because as control-heavy as Real Madrid can be, they still create more direct attacks than anyone else in Spain, and that’s because Ancelotti cares, as far as his tactics suggest, about retaining a very threatening transition.
That said, it does feel like they’re playing with fate sometimes by leaving those players up the pitch because as well organized as that block is, they can afford time and space to opposing playmakers in and around the box. We saw that last season in El Clasico, I made an entire video on that, and we also saw it in the Champions League against Manchester City. Sometimes the profile of Real Madrid’s players also doesn’t help in this regard. We talked about the importance of Kroos and Modric in possession, but defensively, especially with Kroos as a 6, that can lead to a lack of athleticism and intensity when defending.
And so far in the preseason, it doesn’t look like that’s been addressed.
So while I do respect Ancelotti for his bravery in allowing his forwards to stay up the pitch, I can’t help but feel like they could be punished again for it. Anyway, we’ll just have to see how that goes throughout the season. As I said, for me, this is one of the more fascinating teams in Europe at the moment. So I’d be very interested to see how they perform this year and whether they’ll be able to wrestle the league title away from Barcelona.
Also Read:
