Opinion: It is time for Ancelotti to drop his obsession with Tchouameni and turn to Raul Asencio | OneFootball

Carlo Ancelotti will go down as one of the most successful managers in history irrespective of what goes down at Real Madrid this season.

His man-management has been excellent over the years and is one of the pioneering factors behind his success. This season, however, questions have had to be raised about it.

Battling with a serious injury crisis throughout the campaign so far, Ancelotti has not handled the situation to the best of his abilities with many voices calling him out for favouritism towards certain players.

His man-management has particularly been questionable in central defence after Eder Militao’s injury for it is baffling who he opts to deploy Aurelien Tchouameni time and time again ahead of young Raul Asencio.

Sidelined for no fault

When Eder Militao left the field with an ACL injury against Osasuna and the manager had nobody else to turn to, a young Raul Asencio took to the field to partner Antonio Rudiger and dished out a stunning debut performance with an assist as a cherry on the cake.

In the games that followed, Asencio established himself as a reliable defender in Real Madrid’s backline and exhibited a great understanding with his German senior.

When Tchouameni returned to fitness, however, Ancelotti opted to discount all of Asencio’s merit and hand the starting spot to the Frenchman, sparking talks of his overt favoritism, and rightly so.

Word had it that he preferred the Frenchman for his ability in the air and physique, but it was always blatantly clear that Asencio was the superior defender.

Time to end the drama

Time for Asencio to play regularly. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Fielding a natural centre-back in his position, irrespective of how famous he is, is always superior to opting for an established midfielder playing out of position.

Trained with the skills required to play out the ball from the back, the right positional sense, and pace, Asencio has been a better fit for Real Madrid at the back quite conspicuously. It is only Ancelotti’s obsession with Tchouameni, however, that has seen him sidelined.

The defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico has rightly brought the roof down over the manager’s clear favouritism and it is high time it is put to an end for the greater good.

In 615 minutes played with Asencio on the field, Real Madrid have only conceded five goals with one conceded every 123 minutes on average.

With Tchouameni as a centre-back on the field for 929 minutes, the men in white have conceded 15 goals averaging one every 62 minutes.

In short, Real Madrid concede two goals on the field with Tchouameni in action in the same time as they concede one with Asencio. If that is not telling enough that a change is needed, the manager will perhaps never see the light.

The 21-year-old La Fabrica talent has stepped up every time he has been asked to whereas Tchouameni’s form throughout this season has been questionable. The experiment might have produced favourable results on occasions but it is time for Ancelotti & co. to bring an end to it.