How modest Carlo Ancelotti exasperated Chelsea in Real Madrid masterclass


Ian Hawkey
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Three weekends ago, Carlo Ancelotti, the Real Madrid manager, made an apology to the club’s supporters that was quickly backed up with a promise.

He said sorry for his poor judgements contributing to a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Barcelona. “These things can happen as a one-off,” Ancelotti added, “but they don’t tend to happen twice with me.”

That’s as close as you will hear to Ancelotti, one of the highest-achieving managers of the 21st century, blowing his own trumpet. Unlike some in his profession, he does not make great boasts about his expertise, but will rather let his long, distinguished career speak for itself.

His three Champions League triumphs, two with AC Milan, one with Madrid, are its peaks. By the end of next month he should also have completed a rare clean sweep of league titles across the five strongest divisions in Europe: He has a Serie A crown, with Milan; a Premier League, with Chelsea; Bundesliga and Ligue 1 gold medals with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Madrid, who took on Ancelotti for a second time last summer, are currently 12 points clear of Barcelona in La Liga.

He also has Madrid with one foot in the semi-finals of a Champions League in which, going into the last eight, they were not considered among the four strongest teams. Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge against his old club, Chelsea, the defending European champions, was stunning, and a triumph for the tried-and-tested manager and for the know-how of his senior lieutenants, above all Madrid captain Karim Benzema.

Ancelotti, who was only able to be on the touchline having tested negative for Covid-19 in Madrid on the morning of the match, had been as good as his word. He very seldom makes two misjudgements within a short time.

“We planned well and executed the plan well,” he said of the emphatic quarter-final first leg win in London. Under Ancelotti, a full-strength Madrid will usually mean a single selection dilemma. The midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have been building their partnership for the best part of eight years. The role that switches is the berth to their right, be it Marco Asensio, Rodrygo or someone with more containing qualities.

Against Chelsea, Ancelotti opted for the bite and energy of Federico Valverde, and by picking the Uruguayan, he chose wisely, gaining cover at full-back that in turn allowed Dani Carvajal, the right back, to supplement the central defenders’ tasks in blunting Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount.

Chelsea 1 Real Madrid 3: player ratings

That Chelsea trio are aged between 22 and 23. The spine of the Madrid team, through Carvajal and David Alaba and the thirtysomethings of midfield to Benzema, 34, are, on average, a decade older, and have 17 European Cups winners’ medals between them. By the end of the dismantling of Chelsea it was hard not to conclude that the Men had beaten the Boys. Chelsea’s seniors, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta both had tough nights, Jorginho too little time on the ball.

Ancelotti, 62, had trumped Thomas Tuchel, 48, as well, Tuchel’s decision to play Azpilicueta as left wing-back a choice that doubly misfired. Vinicius Junior had a fulfilling first half attacking the areas, on the right of Chelsea’s back line, normally patrolled by Azpilicueta and presented Benzema with an perfectly measured and weighted cross for the captain’s first headed goal; Benzema’s second headed strike, for a 2-0 lead, came after Azpilicueta had been bypassed on the other flank.

In his 15 months in charge of Chelsea, Tuchel has rarely appeared so exasperated. The team into which he injected order and shape on being appointed as manager last January, the side he guided past Madrid in the semi-final to the European Cup triumph last May, have now conceded seven times at home in the space of two fixtures.

“It is alarming,” said Tuchel, acknowledging his “mistake” in how he had set up his defence and declaring, bluntly, he sees no way back into the tie even with 90 minutes in Madrid still to go.

Tuchel’s pessimism would be justified if Benzema continues in his current vein of form. In his last 115 minutes of Champions League knockout football he has scored two hat-tricks, the first to dramatically turn around the last-16 tie against PSG that Madrid were losing 2-0 until the last half-hour, the second to stun Stamford Bridge. Against PSG, as at Chelsea, Vinicius assisted one goal, Modric another and the other Benzema made for himself by putting pressure on a goalkeeper who was looking to play the ball out from the back.

“He is a complete player and we’re very lucky to have him,” said Ancelotti of the Frenchman. “He gets better and better, and more and more of a leader.”

Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.

Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.

The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.

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What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

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To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

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THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
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  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Updated: April 07, 2022, 3:20 PM`