As the 2020-21 season came to an end, Real Madrid's dream of four titles was shattered, and the team's helmsman Zinedine Zidane chose to leave. Unlike the previous time, this time it was not Florentino who fired him, but Zidane who took the initiative.
The appointment of new manager Carlo Ancelotti has sparked much discussion. During his time at AC Milan, he was known as the "Cup Master". However, after leaving Real Madrid, his cup results have not been satisfactory. 2017-18 Champions League group stage, Bayern away against CNM trident led by Paris, 0:3 defeat, Ancelotti therefore dismissed. Since then, he has coached Everton, invested a lot, but has never been able to lead the team to make a difference in the Premier League.
This summer, Florentino in the reinforcements stretched, limited funds, only "on the rice pot", but his own salary is still considerable.
With no strong new recruits joining the club and a less than full starting lineup, Carlo Ancelotti began his pre-season preparations. He first arranged a friendly match against Scottish Premier League newcomers Rangers, coached by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
On the eve of the match, Gerrard didn't take kindly to Real Madrid, "Mourinho invited me in 2010, when he had just taken over Real Madrid. Real Madrid wanted to create a conflict between Liverpool and me so I could leave. That was the only way, but that's not going to happen."
Although Rangers are the league champions, the overall level of the Scottish league is limited and the team lacks well-known stars. Real Madrid, on the other hand, as the top giants of Europe's top five leagues, are good enough to crush other teams even with their second-tier lineup.
Ahead of the game, Gerrard didn't take Real Madrid lightly either, "Firstly, we'd like to thank Real Madrid for coming and choosing to play a friendly with us, it's going to be a great day, but it's important that we get something out of this game."
The result of the match proved that Gerrard's words were not empty. Real Madrid may not have chosen wisely.
Rangers' starting lineup is one in which we can hardly find any familiar stars.
On Real Madrid's side, Lunin/Marcelo, Chust, Nacho, Odriozola/Blanco, Odego/Rodrigo, Isco, Vazquez/Jovic. Not a lot of marquee players, but not nobodies either. These could be players Ancelotti is scouting or players Real Madrid is interested in selling or loaning out. However, even so, this lineup is competitive enough to play in La Liga, let alone against a team from outside the top five leagues. In the Euroleague rankings, the Socceroos couldn't even make it into the top ten, coming in behind the Turkish Super League and the OFC.
In the 8th minute of the match, Real Madrid launched a wonderful fast counterattack, Eudegardo received the ball at the front of the penalty area, ran and passed diagonally, Rodrigo followed up and received the ball, tripped and took two steps to deduct over the defenders, and stabbed the far corner of the goal from a small angle. The coordination and individual ability of the two rising stars were exquisite.
However, the Rangers team then began to take control of the game. In the 10th minute, Marcelo blocked a header with his hand in the penalty area and the referee did not blow the penalty. Rangers launched consecutive attacks but failed to score in the first half. In the second half, the Rangers continued to attack, scoring two goals in the 55th and 77th minutes to seal the win, and Real Madrid center back Nacho was sent off with a red card for a foul.
Not only did Real Madrid lose the game, they didn't dominate on the field either, being riddled with 21 shots by Rovers and only 5 shots on goal themselves.
Could Ancelotti be the next victim to succeed Zidane after Lopetegui? If Florentino can't bring him a top star like Mbappe or Levan, the outlook is bleak.
