Alonso could be forced to ‘invent’ a new centre-back for Super Cup final vs Barcelona | OneFootball

Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup last night, but also suffered some serious casualties in the process.

Antonio Rudiger, who started the game with pain in his knee, put up a strong display but left the field through injury past the hour mark. All signs point to him not being available for the final in any capacity.

Raul Asencio was the second centre-back, and the youngster too left the field at the same time as Rudiger through discomfort.

While there is some optimism that his blow is minor and that he will be available against Barcelona, it is astounding how the Merengues seemingly lost both central defenders at the same moment.

An emergency measure?

As Real Madrid stare ahead to the final of the competition against Barcelona, serious questions arise as to who will start in central defence and AS bring to light how the manager may well have to ‘invent’ a solution.

For starters, Rudiger being ruled out comes as a massive blow and the manager is also unlikely to trust the other veteran option in David Alaba given the player’s constant injuries and poor involvement this season.

Then there is the case of Dean Huijsen who has only recently returned from injury. Even though he warmed, the summer arrival did not enter the pitch up against Atletico Madrid despite two defenders leaving injured.

Rudiger is practically ruled out of Super Cup final. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

That fact, needless to say, raises doubts about whether he is fit enough to directly start a game as important as El Clasico, that too in a final.

With Asencio seemingly the only centre-back who may be fit to start, Real Madrid may have to look for a player from a department to step in and fill the void and two options stand out – Aurelien Tchouameni and Alvaro Carreras.

The Frenchman and the Spaniard were the duo who saw out Real Madrid’s semifinal game as the centre-backs after the substitutions of Rudiger and Asencio. One of them may well have your partner Asencio in the same position at the weekend.

Tchouameni is the more experienced of the two in playing as a centre-back and will thus provide better defensive cover. Deploying him at centre-back, however, will weaken Real Madrid in the middle – something that could be a blunder against Barcelona.

Carreras too has his pros and cons. After all, his deployment in the centre will not cause much of a rippling effect given that Ferland Mendy can start at left-back but he is not as experienced and can make mistakes in central defence.

The best-case scenario for Alonso, needless to say, will be for Huijsen to recover and start alongside Asencio.