Three observations from Real Madrid’s 5-2 victory against Celta de Vigo

Real Madrid advanced to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals despite holding a two-goal lead in regulation time to beat Celta Vigo 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabéu. A double from Endrick in extra time, sandwiching a beautiful rocket from Fede Valverde was enough to give Real the victory, but they had to work hard to achieve it.

Here are three quick observations from the game:

Aurelien Tchouameni returned as defensive midfielder

Sometimes it is difficult to blame Tchouameni for all the problems that Real Madrid has had this season. He hasn’t been good, but one could argue that he has also played out of position on several occasions due to Ancelotti’s reluctance to start Raúl Asencio instead of a first-team player.

On the other hand, Tchouameni has also not had more than one or two really good performances as a center. The Frenchman was not good against Celta de Vigo; He wasn’t bad either, but he just didn’t do enough to warrant a starting job. He was lethargic on the ball, reacted slowly and gave the ball away cheaply on several occasions, sometimes very close to Andrey Lunin’s goal.

It wasn’t bad, but it was a rare occasion for him to start in his preferred position, but I honestly didn’t see him do much good for Los Blancos. And this is said by someone who has advocated and defended Tchouameni a lot since he arrived at the club, but who has to improve his performances if he wants a future at Real Madrid.

It’s also worth noting that Ancelotti clearly wants Tchouameni to be present on the pitch, whether as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. It remains to be seen whether the Italian coach will continue to start with a fully fit Eduardo Camavinga (who has undoubtedly had a terrible week as a footballer), instead of the Frenchman whom he clearly wants to see in his best XI.

Does playing with young people make you win games?

Short answer: sometimes.

Long answer: you wouldn’t know if you didn’t try. A genuine argument could have been made about Ancelotti’s decisions in the second half, when Real Madrid almost blew it, conceding two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game. Ancelotti, thinking the game was done and dusted, took Kylian Mbappé (who once again was, and comfortablythe best player of Real Madrid). Would it have caused any problems if Real Madrid had won the game in regulation time? Probably not. But they didn’t, so that’s how it was.

Ancelotti brought on Endrick and Arda Guler, and the former did not have his best game until the second half of extra time. We probably wouldn’t have seen this happen if Mbappé had stayed, and Ancelotti has to be blamed for not bringing out someone other than Mbappé, who was clearly enjoying the game.

But it was very good to see these young men play. Endrick had a double, while Guler had two assists in the last 15 minutes of the game.

Ancelotti, asked about the young people, said one thing: “I am here to win football games, not to give minutes to young players.” Well, sometimes that can coincide. It’s not always a good idea to keep starting your main XI regardless of whether things are working out. Young people deserve some faith to show off.

They will make mistakes (Asencio made one today), but this is how these players will be ready when needed. Real Madrid has the highest level in everything, and that includes the players. There needs to be an expectation of quality from those holders. But, if some of those starters don’t meet the expected standards, perhaps it would be helpful if young people had the opportunity to help, like tonight.

Ancelotti knows much more about football than me and, even if he read this, he would not change his way of being. But it’s good that sometimes young people stand out.

The elephant in the room…

The usual Copa del Rey practice continued for Real Madrid when they conceded two goals in the final minutes of the match (clearly taking their foot off the pedal) and let the match go into extra time. A match that was supposed to be an easy victory for them. Real Madrid controlled most of the match, but somehow let it go through strange personnel changes and individual errors.

Asencio had been brilliant in every minute he played before the game against Celta, and he was also impressive against Celta, but conceded the penalty for the second goal.

It’s almost harsh to criticize him after watching him play for the last two months, and he’s a young player who will inevitably make mistakes, but Real Madrid’s players must be of a high standard. That also applies to Camavinga, who has been virtually flawless in his games this season but has had a hellish week due to consecutive poor performances against Barcelona and Celta, giving up possession for the goal that started the away team’s comeback.

It is also a collective issue, since the entire team decided to give up possession cheaply, not try to control the game and succumb to Celta’s pressure without being made to work hard for it. Things like this are unacceptable.

Frankly, it’s embarrassing that Real Madrid allowed three of their players to do overtime heroics to dig them out of another hole. You simply can’t allow that to happen and that’s why I don’t see much improvement in Real Madrid all season. Intensity, defense and lack of intent have been problems this season, aside from a few games. What happens is that sometimes they get punished for it and other times they are lucky to have the best players in the world.