“He’s never gonna play”, “Ancelotti out” – Real Madrid fans furious as defender is not named in line-up to face Villarreal
Carlo Ancelotti has displeased Real Madrid fans as they are appalled with his decision to leave out 18-year-old defender Vinicius Tobias from the starting lineup to face Villareal.
The Madridistas are set to take on the Yellow Submarine with Ferland Mendy, Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao and Nacho all playing in the backline. Vinicius Tobias, however, will have to wait yet another game to finally make a starting debut for Real Madrid.
However, fans feel that the right-back, who left Shakhtar Donetsk on loan during the summer for the Santiago Bernabeu, should be given a chance. The youngster has played 20 league games for Castilla, but is yet to debut for the first team. With Tobias on the bench, there is still some chance for him to make an appearance as a substitute.
Here is a selection of tweets from Real fans who were expecting to see the youngster play against Villareal in the Copa del Rey:
Real Madrid hope to reach expectations against Villareal in the Copa del Rey
The Madridistas are coming off of a shock loss against Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final. Despite their formidable attack, they were unable to break down a Barca side that had failed to keep a clean sheet in their past five matches.
Gavi opened the scoring for the Catalans before setting up Robert Lewandowski and Pedri for goals of their own. Karim Benzema's late goal was ultimately too little, too late for Madrid, who fell to Barca in the final.
Real Madrid are currently trailing La Liga leaders Barcelona by three points, seated in second place. The team will face a challenging set of fixtures in the coming weeks, including matches against Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Valencia. The squad will also be looking to improve upon their recent performances in the Copa del Rey, a competition they haven't won since 2014.
Despite a few recent hiccups, Real Madrid will be eager to reclaim their past glory. Not since their defense of their 2014-15 title have they been knocked out in the last 16, and their recent 2-1 loss to Villarreal in La Liga may not bolster their morale.
Moreover, the team will be hampered by jet lag when they venture into the Yellow Submarine's impregnable fortress, having played in the Supercup final in the Middle East.