“Useless coach”, “Why are you doing this” - Real Madrid fans angry at Carlo Ancelotti for refusing to name 21-year-old in starting line-up vs Espanyol

Real Madrid fans are not pleased with Carlo Ancelotti's decision to leave 21-year-old defender Raul Asencio on the bench for their match against Espanyol. Los Blancos visit the RCDE Stadium on Saturday for their LaLiga clash, where Asencio starts on the bench.

The young centre-back has broken into the first team this season, making 28 appearances in all competitions and picking up just five yellow cards. His quality has been clear, with Carlo Ancelotti trusting him with UEFA Champions League appearances, among others.

More recently, Asencio has started their last two games, partaking in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Las Palmas and their 3-0 win over Real Valladolid. With injuries affecting Los Blancos' central defense, the Spaniard has shone unexpectedly, and fans have been looking forward to seeing him play more.

However, Carlo Ancelotti has opted to leave Asencio on the bench against Espanyol, instead opting for Aurelien Tchouameni in one of the centre-back roles. The fans are upset about this, as Tchouameni is a defensive midfielder, and has struggled to play at centre-back this season. They took to social media platform X to share comments like these:

"I hope everyone can see that Carlo is the major problem we have at Real Madrid. Apparently, we have 2 naturally Centre backs on the bench and most especially the most informed youngster "Asencio" but Carlo preferred to play a DM as CB. What a useless coach" a fan slammed the manager.

"Mr Ancelotti, is there something asencio did to you that you like benching him even knowing how good he is? You knew tchoumeni is not a defender. Tchoumeni is not good in defense like asencio, so why are you doing this for God sake?" another fan questioned.

"Did Asencio commit any crime ?" this fan asked.

"Ancelotti still prefers Tchouameni over Asencio 😅" another fan laughed.

"Make everyone tag Ancelotti we need Asencio ahead of tchouameni" a fan demanded.

"Start Asencio" this fan stated.

"Ancelotti will be the end of this Club" another claimed.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti warns against complacency

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players against being complacent in their upcoming match against 18th-placed Espanyol. In their last 10 league games, Los Blancos have lost just once, and the manager is looking for a continuation of this form.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the Espanyol game, Carlo Ancelotti said (via Sports Illustrated):

"It is an important moment in the League for all the teams. We are still far from the final stretch, but the points at stake are starting to be more important. We have an advantage at the moment, and we want to keep it."

Real Madrid sit at the top of the LaLiga table, with 49 points from 21 games. However, Atletico Madrid sit close behind with 48 points, but Los Blancos could increase the gap by four points if they beat Espanyol.