How Carlo Ancelotti can replace Jude Bellingham in his Real Madrid midfield for the next two La Liga games? | OneFootball

There is no doubt that refereeing decisions have played a clear role as Real Madrid have dropped points in their last three games.

The Merengues have had to contend with several penalties not given, a clear red card to an opposition player overlooked, while themselves receiving a red card in a way that would have been controversial in normal circumstances but particularly stands out in the currently heated environment in which the Spanish refereeing system is facing a lot of criticism.

This red card, awarded to Jude Bellingham in the last league game against Osasuna for his alleged verbal abuse aimed at the referee, could go on to cost Los Blancos in the upcoming games as well, as the English star is now suspended for two games.

Being one of the most important parts of this Real Madrid team, and the most obvious creative force in their midfield, there is no doubt that Bellingham will be missed a lot in the games against Girona and Real Betis.

Fortunately, the intensity of this loss will be mitigated to some extent by the fact that Carlo Ancelotti has all his midfield options available for the upcoming game against Girona.

Eduardo Camavinga, who was recently sidelined with an injury, is back to full fitness, while Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde will also be able to play in their natural positions following the returns of Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez.

All of these three midfielders will provide the midfield with a lot of steel and running capacity. However, the main loss with Bellingham’s suspension will be the lack of a clear-cut creative force in the midfield, who can keep the ball and connect with the forwards in tight areas.

To replace this creative aspect of the Englishman’s game, Carlo Ancelotti will have several options up his sleeve.

One of the more experienced players that the Italian tactician can decide to replace Bellingham with can be Luka Modric. While already 39 years of age, the Croatian magician still has the ability to weave magic with his feet, as he has already shown several times this season.

As the following visual shows, the veteran midfielder can be an even better player from a creative point of view, but his advanced age will definitely not allow him to put up as all-round performances as the English midfielder does:

Up to this point in La Liga, Sofascore statistics show that the Croat has created 12 big chances for his team, and has 3 assists to his name with an xA rate of 3.82. Furthermore, he puts in 1.5 key passes in every game and boasts of a passing accuracy rate of 84% in the opposition half.

Similarly, Arda Guler is another player whom most Real Madrid fans will be looking to see play, especially as game time has dried up for him in recent games. Still, he remains a highly exciting offensive player, who can excel both as a right winger and an attacking midfielder.

Like Modric, Guler also has 3 La Liga assists up to now, but his xA rate is lower at 1.88. He also has created only 5 big chances in 16 appearances, putting in 1.1 key passes on average in each game. The Turk also enjoys an 84% passing accuracy rate in the opposition half.

These two will be the most obvious choices for Carlo Ancelotti to replace Bellingham in his Real Madrid midfield. However, there will also be other options like Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior, who both have played as attacking midfielders already in this season.

But despite these options, Jude Bellingham will really be missed, both by Ancelotti and the fans, in the upcoming two La Liga games.