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Real Madrid consider sacking Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season
By Spain correspondent Miguel de Souza
Real Madrid are considering sacking Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season.
Spanish sources have told Football Insider that the manager who steered Real to the Champions League title last season is in danger of losing his job.
Ancelotti’s team lie in second place in La Liga, only a single point behind leaders Barcelona, and are strong favourites to reach the Champions League quarter-finals as they aim to protect a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Schalke in the return leg of their last-16 fixture at the Bernabeu tonight.
However, senior figures at the Spanish giants have been disappointed at how far Real have slipped since their club-record 22-match winning run came to an end in the first week of January.
Ancelotti’s side have not scored from open play in the last two matches and the team’s playing style has been heavily criticised by supporters during the absence through injury of key players such as Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez.
Real insiders question whether Ancelotti has the coaching skills to arrest the decline at the training ground and there is a school of thought that the manager is heavily reliant on a ‘Plan A’ based upon a counter-attacking style that utilises the pace and power of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
The front three have been off form of late and Real have lacked fluency throughout the team, slumping to a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao last weekend.