Real Madrid president Florentino Perez extremely unhappy with club's players and manager Carlo Ancelotti - Reports
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is reportedly displeased with both his players and manager Carlo Ancelotti following recent results.
Los Blancos are on a three-match winless run (two draws and a loss) that could potentially end their hopes of any domestic success this season. According to Relevo and Diario AS, that has incensed Perez.
He was initially unhappy with Ancelotti after the first game of the three-gam winlesse run, a 1-1 La Liga draw against Atletico Madrid. The Italian manager chose not to start Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga or Aurelien Tchouameni in that game, which reportedly didn't sit well with Perez.
Relevo reported (as quoted by @MadridXtra on Twitter):
"Florentino Perez was annoyed by Ancelotti’s team selection vs Atletico, he questioned why the manager did not use his best XI."
The same tweet also referenced a report from Diario AS with Ancelotti's reasons for rotating his squad:
"Ancelotti’s response was that the team must play a lot of games with the schedule they have, and he must rotate."
Diego Simeone's Atletico went down to ten men in the 64th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu but still took the lead 14 minutes later. The hosts eventually rescued a point, with youngster Alvaro Rodriguez scoring in the 86th minute.
Real Madrid followed up that draw with a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona. Ancelotti's men recorded 13 shots but none of them on target in a flat showing. That marked Los Blancos' second defeat against their arch-rivals in this year. Barcelona beat them 3-1 in the Supercopa de Espana final in January.
Perez reportedly held a conversation with the players following their most recent La Liga clash at Real Betis on Sunday (March 5). Diario AS reported (as quoted by @MadridXtra on Twitter):
"Florentino Perez spoke to the players in the changing room after last night’s game. The anger of the president has been building since the loss to Barcelona in the Super Cup."
Real Madrid drew goalless with Betis on Sunday in an entertaining fixture. Both teams managed a combined nine shots on target but could not find the back of the net.
Real Madrid's hopes of winning La Liga slip after consecutive draws
At one point on Sunday, Real Madrid might have fancied their chances of bringing the gap between them and La Liga leaders Barcelona to just four points. The Blaugrana, playing in the earlier kick-off, led Valencia 1-0 in the second half, but were down to ten men after Ronald Araujo's dismissal.
However, as they have often done this season, Xavi Hernandez's side held on, winning once again by a one-goal margin to go ten points clear at the top. That meant that even a Real Madrid win later in the day would only bring the gap down to seven.
Los Blancos put in an improved display against Real Betis after some tepid performances against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. However, they eventually could not find the goal they needed and are now nine points behind the La Liga leaders after 24 games.