"Always going to hurt you a lot" - Ex-Real Madrid star Sergio Arribas warns Almeria teammates about Los Blancos duo ahead of La Liga clash
Former Real Madrid midfielder Sergio Arribas has warned UD Almeria teammates to be wary of the threat posed by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes.
Arribas, 21, spent 11 years with Los Blancos and made 14 senior appearances before joining Almeria permanently for €6 million this summer. He made his debut in his new club's 2-0 La Liga loss against Rayo Vallecano on 11 August and is in line to play against Real Madrid.
The two teams face other in the Spanish league on Saturday (19 August) at the Estadio Mediterraneo. Ahead of the game, Arribas named Rodrygo and Vinicius as the two main threats for his former club up front, telling Relevo (h/t @theMadridZone on X):
"With Vinicius and Rodrygo Real Madrid are always going to hurt you a lot."
Vinicius (23) and Rodrygo (22) are the present and future of the club. In the absence of a quality No. 9 following Karim Benzema's exit, they started up front in a two-man attack as Carlo Ancelotti fielded a 4-1-2-1-2 formation.
It remains to be seen if the Italian tactician makes use of the same system against Almeria. They are said to be linked with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe but he could sign a new deal with the French giants.
Carlo Ancelotti wants to tweak his full-backs to increase Real Madrid's attacking threat - reports
According to Marca (h/t MadridUniversal). Carlo Ancelotti wants to tweak Real Madrid's system in a way which enables his full-backs to attack more often.
Los Blancos have Ferland Mendy, Fran Garcia and Eduardo Camavinga as players who can play down the left flank. On the opposite wing, Ancelotti has Lucas Vazquez and Dani Carvajal to choose from.
Ancelotti reportedly wants to suffocate opponents with this tactic, which can create an overload of players if the full-backs push further. If he continues to employ a diamond in midfield, Real Madrid will lack the natural threat they posed down the wings with attackers.
But if their full-backs act as makeshift wingers in attack, then it could provide Los Merengues with an extra threat. It remains to be seen if they make signings in that area before the September 1 deadline to fit Ancelotti's new plans.