Real Madrid played one of their best games so far this season against Real Sociedad. The only thing missing was a goal.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti is left with an unusual feeling from the game which ended 0-0, although when it comes to putting together the eleven, it is more complicated than ever.
This is because on the night that Real Madrid played their best, there were players involved who until recently were not even on the bench, as is the case with Dani Ceballos, who is already questioning the Toni Kroos-Luka Modric pairing. But this is not the only dilemma to be solved by Italian.
Ceballos calls for a move and Tchouameni is still missing
Ceballos put in another great performance with his contract renewal still up in the air. That is a dilemma for the club, but the one on the pitch is a task for the coach, who is seeing how the former Real Betis player is pushing to break the Toni Kroos and Luka Modric paring, untouchable for so many years.
The Croatian was left on the bench yesterday and not for the first time since returning from the World Cup. There is no debate about Modric when he is at his best, but the good news is that Ancelotti now has a guaranteed replacement.
Playing all three seems impossible and even more so with the return of Aurelien Tchouameni. On Sunday, Ancelotti dropped Fede Valverde to the midfield to give more strength in that area of the pitch with Ceballos and Kroos.
The Frenchman is close to returning and it is expected that he will regain his pivotal position, where Eduardo Camavinga has also done well without his compatriot, which makes it even more difficult for the Italian.
With Ferland Mendy injured and Camavinga having to fill in at a position that he would rather not play, Ancelotti has a headache at left-back too.
Issues remain at right-back too. The injuries to Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez have left Nacho Fernandez at right-back and it looks like that will continue to be the case. Alvaro Odriozola is the other right-back in the squad but before him, Eder Militao and even Antonio Rudiger have played in that position.
