Federico Valverde’s wife, Mina Bonino, voiced her frustration with Carlo Ancelotti during Real Madrid’s 3-1 Champions League loss to AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
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The game began with Malick Thiaw putting Milan ahead early, but Vinicius Junior leveled the score for Madrid from the penalty spot.
Alvaro Morata then scored against his former club just before halftime, while Tijjani Reijnders netted his fourth goal in three games during the second half, securing Milan’s victory…Continue Reading
Valverde started on the right flank for Madrid, though he was taken off at halftime, along with Aurelien Tchouameni, who had been receiving whistles from the home crowd in the first half.
Bonino expressed her displeasure with Ancelotti’s choice to play Valverde, who is naturally a central midfielder, in a wider position.
In response to a Real Madrid fan on X, Bonino wrote: ‘Fede plays best as a midfielder.
‘What are you talking about? When are they going to understand once and for all that Fede isn’t a winger?’
When another user on X criticised Valverde for his part in Morata’s goal for Milan, Bonino said: ‘He’s playing as a winger. Did you know? Because I never see forwards being reproached for not dropping back, but the idiot who is everywhere is.’
When asked about Bonino’s comments after Madrid’s defeat, Ancelotti said: ‘From what people think on social media… for me it’s very complicated.
‘I took him off because for me he wasn’t 100 per cent, he had back problems, it seemed like he had recovered because he trained well yesterday but it seemed like he wasn’t at his best physical level, that’s why I changed him.’
The defeat to AC Milan has left Madrid in the play-off places in the Champions League league table and Ancelotti’s side face Liverpool at Anfield in their next European match on November 27.
‘The team is not playing its best and we are all to blame. It is very important that we all take responsibility,’ Ancelotti said.
‘Because just as when we win, we all do it, when we have to suffer and fight, we do it too. We gain strength from situations like this.
‘The dressing room is healthy. Obviously there will be a lot of criticism now, especially about the attitude, the training sessions… but this has happened many times in the past. And what people think, we have to accept it.
‘We have to accept the reality, that we are not doing well now and we have to do better. Because it is very difficult to get to the end of the season like this. We have to fix things, I repeat, we have to defend better because that is the key.
‘There may be some solutions in tactical details but without going crazy making changes.
‘Of course we need to improve tactically. As I said, the problem is not an individual one. Defensive work is about sacrifice, concentration and collective effort.’
