Real Madrid prepare for Manchester City with ‘total emergency’ in defence An injury crisis means Carlo Ancelotti must get creative in the Champions League playoff against Manchester City.
Last season Madrid lost only twice all year, both times to Atlético; this season, they have lost seven times already.
Two more academy players have also been called up: Jacobo Ramón, who has played twice this season, and Lorenzo Aguado, who has made three appearances as a substitute but is still unlikely to play at right‑back.
In fact, Ancelotti also has Jesús Vallejo, the strange case of the central defender included in every squad, who sits on the bench every game but never comes on and doesn’t get mentioned by his manager.
Ancelotti said he would have preferred City to have been knocked out, to have avoided them, saying: “We don’t like it.” If the good news is that City are even worse, that is of limited comfort.
