Three questions and three answers from Real Madrid – Atalanta 2-0, UEFA Super Cup 2024

Real Madrid were crowned FIFA Intercontinental Cup champions thanks to a 3-0 victory over Mexican side Pachuca on Wednesday evening. Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo Goes were on the scoresheet either side of half-time for Carlo Ancelotti’s side before Vinícius Júnior added a third from the penalty spot with six minutes remaining.

Three answers

1. Would Kylian Mbappé be fit to start?

After Kylian Mbappé was only out for eight days against Atalanta with a thigh injury, hardly anyone would have expected him to be back in action so quickly. The 25-year-old striker was included in the traveling squad and from that moment on it seemed likely that Mbappé could feature in some capacity, having played in virtually every game he has been available for since arriving at the club in the summer Starting eleven was in place. The Frenchman lasted 60 minutes and scored a goal and an assist, both quite easily, picking up a pass after clever work from Vinícius Júnior, and providing an assist with a direct short pass to Rodrygo Goes, who scored an excellent finish from distance. At the time of his substitution, he was leading the statistics for chances created with two and dribbles completed with not five. Not a bad return for the striker.

2. How much of a challenge would Pachuca be?

Despite reaching the Intercontinental Cup final, Pachuca is not a real test for a team of Real Madrid’s quality. After finishing 16th in the Liga MX Apertura stage with just three wins from 17 games, this should have been a much easier path to victory for Real Madrid, at least in the first half. Pachuca needed penalties to beat Egyptian side Al Ahly, while their star is 35-year-old Salomon Rondon, whose career peaked 13 years ago when he scored 16 goals in a season for Málaga. Similar to Vinícius’ penalty, it wasn’t quite as comfortable for Real Madrid as many Madridistas might have hoped given the quality of the opposition.

3. Would Carlo Ancelotti break Miguel Muñoz’s record?

With the win in Qatar, Carlo Ancelotti becomes Real Madrid’s most decorated coach of all time. The Italian took his trophy tally with Los Blancos to 15 by winning the Intercontinental Cup. There are also two wins in La Liga (2022 and 2024), two wins in the Copa del Rey (2014 and 2023), two wins in the Supercopa de España (2022 and 2024) and three wins in the UEFA Champions League (2014, 2022 and 2024). , the UEFA Super Cup three times in 2014, 2022 and 2024, the FIFA Club World Cup twice in 2014 and 2022 and now the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024. Muñoz won 14 trophies between 1961 and 1972 and the only other man to reach double figures was Zinedine Zidane with 11 titles.

Three questions

1. Why did Real Madrid stop rotating?

Real Madrid, which recently included Jude Bellingham at the pre-match press conference for this game, did not hold back in their criticism of the game plan. “The stress of minutes accumulates, leads to fatigue and that takes its toll. There comes a point that affects performance, especially when you’re up against tough opponents and need speed,” Bellingham said. “But that’s how it is. We have to play a lot of games and will try to do our best. In the summer you can rest a lot, but now we have games every three days.” Nevertheless, Carlo Ancelotti came out with his best possible team, even though this game seemed to be an easy one on paper. There could have been an opportunity to give players like Endrick Felipe, Dani Ceballos or Raúl Asencio minutes, but the coach instead chose not to take any risks and go full throttle with his lineup.

2. How many more trophies will come this season?

Technically, this is the second trophy of the 2024/25 season, after the UEFA Super Cup won in Poland in August after a win over Atalanta. With this victory, Real Madrid qualified for this tournament in Qatar and thus directly for the final. Next up for Real Madrid is the Supercopa de España, to be played in Saudi Arabia in early January, which could secure the treble before Real Madrid have even reached the halfway point of the season. Hopes remain alive in La Liga and the Champions League, while Los Blancos have yet to kick a ball in the Copa del Rey and are already in the round of 16 against Deportiva Minera at the start of January. There’s a big chance this isn’t the last title of the season.

3. What impact will this game have on the La Liga game against Sevilla?

Real Madrid will travel back to Spain tomorrow morning to begin preparations for Sunday’s La Liga game against Sevilla at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. They are one of just five Spanish teams in action during the week, while Sevilla are on an eight-day break having not played since their win over Celta Vigo on Saturday evening. Carlo Ancelotti now has to prepare his team for a game with three training sessions, which is nothing new for anyone at the club, but they are doing so with plenty of miles under their belt after their travels this week. Pachuca may not have been the most demanding physical test of the season, but the lack of squad depth and rotation means it could be a pressure for some players late on Sunday against Sevilla. After that, the team will have almost two weeks without games during the winter break.