Real Madrid has made what have been dubbed two new “signings” for the business end of the Champions League, as highlighted by MARCA.
It was just a week ago that David Alaba was tipped for prominence in the defending champion’s playoffs meeting with Manchester City after finally recovering from a December 2023 ACL rupture.
In just a matter of days, however, head coach Carlo Ancelotti lost Antonio Rudiger to a knock that forced him to leave their side’s 1-0 loss to Espanyol early, while Alaba had a niggle of his own confirmed to leave Madrid short-staffed and without a senior center back for the first leg against the Mancunians in the Etihad on Tuesday.
At a prematch press conference to preview Saturday’s vital La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid, Ancelotti admitted that his outfit is “in an emergency in defense”.
“We are in February and still far from the end of the season. Rudiger and Alaba will be back very soon. Despite this we have fixed it by taking young players from the academy who have contributed, changing the positions of some players.
“It hasn’t been a normal situation, hopefully we can return very soon [to normality]. We have to manage the emergency, but still get the results. We continue to lead,” Ancelotti further stated.
Amid Jacobo Ramon starting Wednesday’s 3-2 Copa del Rey quarterfinals win over Leganes, Ancelotti has also been making moves in the background relative to his remarks.
As highlighted by MARCA, he used a February 6 deadline to add Kike Ribes and Loren Aguado to his 25-man squad list for the Champions League knockout phase.
While it is highly unlikely either player will feature against City, the reserve team stars of the Castilla overseen by club legend Raul Gonzalez at least provide extra options moving forward if Madrid can see off the Premier League holder.
There are hopes that at least Rudiger can make the second leg at the Bernabeu on Feburary 25, while the first installment of the tie might see Ancelotti take a punt on Raul Asencio and pivot Aurelien Tchouameni in the heart of the back line.