Real Madrid’s new system still needs work – but Bellingham is impressing already
The first glimpse of Carlo Ancelotti’s new-look Real Madrid ended in familiar style as they came from behind to beat AC Milan 3-2 at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena on Sunday evening local time.
It was clear, though, that much has changed in the 49 days since they last took to the pitch, when fans said goodbye to Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz at the Santiago Bernabeu back in early June.
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The squad has welcomed plenty of summer arrivals: Brahim Diaz, Joselu, Fran Garcia, Arda Guler and of course, Jude Bellingham. Against Milan, Diaz, Joselu and Bellingham started, while full-back Garcia came on in the second half and Guler was left out due to a muscle problem. The same happened with Alvaro Odriozola, who is expected to leave in the coming weeks and is looking to avoid risking injury.
But Sunday’s friendly wasn’t just about new names — we also saw a new system, a switch from the 4-3-3 Ancelotti favoured last season to a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield. This formation, as reported by The Athletic in June, was already being considered by the Italian coach during his holidays.
“I want to try something new at the beginning,” Ancelotti said on Thursday, before Madrid’s first training session of their pre-season United States tour. “If it doesn’t work out we can always go back to the old system, which has given us a lot of success in the past.”
Bellingham’s arrival has had a big say in this thinking. The Englishman is Madrid’s star signing of the summer so far and Ancelotti acknowledged that he is looking to build around him.
“We can adapt the system to the characteristics of the players we have,” he said. “Bellingham is a player who can contribute a lot to our attack, and we will
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