In the third round of the Spanish Copa del Rey, Real Madrid defeated the lower team Alcoiano 3-1 to finally win their first victory in 2022. After the game, Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief, believing that Real Madrid was back on track.
Real Madrid are the top giants in football today, and Alcoiano is an obscure Tier 3 team, with a huge disparity in strength between the two teams. But when the two teams met last season, Real Madrid had a gutter overturn and was blocked by the opponent in the round of 16.
In this campaign, Real Madrid relied on Militan's goal to break the deadlock, but it was not all smooth sailing. In the second half, Alcoano seized one of the few opportunities to equalize. In the 76th minute, Asensio stepped forward and fired a left-footed shot from just outside the box to rewrite the score to 2-1!
This goal completely extinguished the opponent's hope of turning the tables, and Real Madrid had no danger to advance to the next round. After the match, OPTA stats said Asensio became the first Real Madrid player to score in La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey this season.
The 25-year-old Asensio rose to fame at a young age and has won two Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles so far in his career. As early as a few years ago, Asensio was regarded as a sharp knife that focused on cultivation, and Bernabeu fans even regarded him as the "crown prince". Zidane even made a bold statement, saying that Asensio was the best left-footed player after Messi.
But man is not as good as heaven, and serious injuries once dragged Asensio's forward steps. Last season, Asensio made 48 appearances and contributed only seven goals, which was relatively inefficient. Even more poignantly, Asensio's former spirituality faded away and became more and more mediocre.
Just when the fans decided that Asensio had become another injured Zhongyong, something magical happened. This season, Asensio was revived under Carlo Ancelotti, making 21 appearances in all competitions, contributing 7 goals and 1 assist, and achieving the first hat-trick of real madrid's career.
You know, Asensio scored 7 goals in just 9 starts, and his efficiency has skyrocketed. Why is Asensio rejuvenating the second spring? First of all, Asensio has found the right position, that is, the rotation between the main force and the substitute, which can play his late-attacking strengths.
Secondly, Ancelotti has transformed Asensio from a winger to a central defender, avoiding hand-to-hand combat speed with opposing defenders, giving full play to the strengths of one foot and running in front of the goal, and becoming a key chess piece to maintain the balance of Real Madrid's attack and defense.
With Ancelotti's guidance and transformation, Asensio became the third point of fire after Benzema and Vinicius. Ancelotti has been in charge of AC Milan, Chelsea, Juve, Real Madrid and Bayern for many years, and has worked with countless superstars, and what he is best at is to reach the full potential of his players.
Kaka, Pirlo, Di Maria, Modric and Kroos all transformed into superstars at the hands of Ancelotti. This time, the second time into the palace to return to Real Madrid, An Shuai once again showed magic, Vinicius transformed perfectly, Jovic, who was defined as a parallel cargo, was activated, and Asensio's Hazard gradually regained his form and confidence.
Although Real Madrid's record is not very stable, Ancelotti's ability to adjust players has been shown, and many fans have suggested that Florentino should not toss and turn, and quickly renew his contract with Ancelotti.