The arrival of Kylian Mbappé was supposed to be the icing on the cake for La Liga and Champions League champions Real Madrid. But far from strengthening the team, his arrival has weakened it.
And it's not his fault. The current lineup doesn't benefit him, mainly because Real Madrid collapses in the center of the field. The lines are not close together and the team breaks up there.
Bellingham Doesn't Want to Play Toni Kroos
Where the rubber meets the road, Ancelotti has discovered that what he's lost with Toni Kroos outweighs what he's gained with Mbappé.
It's a matter of finding solutions. Ancelotti already has one after several inventions: Jude Bellingham. However, the Englishman is not attracted by the idea of playing so far from the goal area.
Where Bellingham feels most comfortable is moving closer to the opposition's penalty area. That's what he did last season when he played as a fake center-forward .
The arrival of Mbappé has blocked that exit and this season Bellingham has still not opened his scoring account after 14 games. Nothing like last season. By this point he had already scored 11 goals.
Ancelotti Needs an Architect, not an Box Killer
Ancelotti will have to convince him to fill the gap left by Toni Kroos. He'll need to be dropped back into his position and act more as an architect than a killer in the box.
Real Madrid needs a midfielder with a good sense of form who can defend and at the same time find the forwards with long passes. In the current Madrid team that player is Bellingham. Whether he accepts playing in that position is another matter.
In the classic, Bellingham was more concerned with covering Lucas Vázquez's defensive gaps on the right wing than creating danger in the Barça area. He was more concerned with covering Balde's runs than with scaring Iñaki Peña.
Bellingham Finished the Classic Annoyed
Bellingham needs freedom of movement to play all over the field. That is exactly the role that Toni Kroos played. Bellingham is needed more there than scoring goals in a team that is full of firepower.
Bellingham finished the match irritated and unhappy with his performance. He believes that it was Balde who should've been worried about him and not him about the Barça full-back.
That's where Ancelotti has a problem, one that he will have to solve with his usual left hand . Whether he likes it or not, Bellingham has to play behind, making Toni Kroos forget about him.