Carlo Ancelotti bold decision pays off as Real Madrid keep one eye on Man City
Real Madrid evaded any fresh injury concerns as Carlo Ancelotti rotated a number of his key players during the Spanish club's 1-0 win over Mallorca on Saturday.
All went swimmingly in Manchester as Pep Guardiola's men positioned themselves at the top of the Premier League table with a 5-1 win over Luton Town. The boss made seven alterations to the team that started City's first leg draw in Madrid, and it paid off as now both Arsenal and Liverpool will have to play catch-up.
The only thing that could have improved matters was if their European opponents had suffered a hit to their confidence, though that never arrived. Instead, they consolidated their place at the top of La Liga, as Aurelien Tchouameni's lone strike was enough to see off their 15th-placed opponents.
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They bossed the overall possession, managing 56 percent, and had 16 shots in total—10 more than Mallorca - with nine on target, while Andriy Lunin had a relatively quiet evening, having been forced into only two saves.
But critical to Los Blancos' latest success was their ability to manage the minutes of a number of key players without hampering their own domestic prospects. This began with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga, Danny Carvajal and Toni Kroos all being named on the bench.
The rotated starting line-up was able to get the job done, then Ancelotti started to roll out the changes. Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz were removed in the 64th minute, with Vinicius and Camavinga taking their place for the remaining 25 minutes. Later on,
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