Spanish Super Cup: Who’s to Blame for Real Madrid’s Loss Against Barcelona
- Real Madrid stumbled to their second defeat in a row against Barcelona this campaign, as the two La Liga giants met in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday evening
- Los Blancos succumbed to a 5-2 loss against the Catalans at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Saudi Arabia over the weekend
- A football analyst while chatting with Briefly News opened up on who caused Real Madrid's unfortunate loss against their bitter rivals, Barcelona
Real Madrid suffered their second defeat against Barcelona this season, as the Catalans thrashed them 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final at the King Abdullah Sports City on Sunday evening.
Los Blancos, the defending champions, were down 4-1 before the break thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Alejandro Balde.
Raphinha added the fifth very early in the second half before Rodrygo's goal reduced the deficit after Wojciech Szczesny was sent off.
![](https://cdn.briefly.co.za/images/360x203/bbe7918404e1c74d.jpeg?v=1)
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![Carlo Ancelotti looks unhappy after Real Madrid's loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final. Carlo Ancelotti looks unhappy after Real Madrid's loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.](https://cdn.briefly.co.za/images/1120/b214abad8c3a6858.jpeg?v=1)
Source: Getty Images
Who's to blame for Real Madrid's loss to Barca
Football analyst Michael Afolayan, in an exclusive chat with Briefly News, gave his opinion about the match, blaming Carlo Ancelotti for Real Madrid's heavy loss against the Catalans.
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"Carlo Ancelotti's decision to continue using a midfielder out of position cost them this game," he said.
"You have a player whose natural position is centre-back, but you kept using Aurelien Tchoumeni in his unnatural position.
"You can clearly see that Tchouameni always struggles in that position, and against a rival like Barcelona, you need to trust Raul Asencio in that area."
![Carlo Ancelotti spotted with Kylian Mbappe after Real Madrid's loss to Barca in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. Carlo Ancelotti spotted with Kylian Mbappe after Real Madrid's loss to Barca in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.](https://cdn.briefly.co.za/images/1120/12763ed0d3a1b700.jpeg?v=1)
Source: Getty Images
Afolayan criticised the former Paris Saint-Germain mentor for his choice of substitution in the match.
"Ancelotti's substitution was wrong in the match; he should have taken Ferland Mendy off for Dani Ceballos and pushed Eduardo Camavinga to the left-back position," he added.
"Ancelotti not trusting some of the young players in the positions Real Madrid are lacking this season might continue to affect them.
"The Italian gaffer made loads of mistakes in the match, and it shows he wasn't reading the game and didn't learn from the last defeat against Barca in October because they literally used the same approach."
Real Madrid have won two trophies this season under the Italian coach's management, while Barcelona's triumph against them marked Hansi Flick's first title as the club's coach since taking over in the summer.
Barcelona are third on the La Liga table, five points behind Real Madrid, and six points behind league leader Atletico Madrid.
Madrid's next match in the league will be against Celta Vigo in the Cope del Rey Round of 16, while Barcelona will face Real Betis in the same competition.
4 coaches who could replace Ancelotti at Madrid
Briefly News earlier listed four managers who are capable of replacing Ancelotti at Real Madrid after poor run of form late last year.
The La Liga champions lost two home matches against Barcelona in the league and AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League, which put pressure on the Italian mentor.
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Source: Briefly News