Fran Garrido Issues a Clear Warning, Message to Ancelotti Hours Before City-Real Madrid

One of the great matches of the season for Real Madrid is approaching. After a somewhat disappointing start to their European campaign, Carlo Ancelotti's pupils will have to secure a spot in the Champions League round of 16. The team they will face, which also wants to be in that round, is Manchester City.

This double match against the sky blue entity makes both teams face each other at a difficult time for both. Neither Real Madrid nor Manchester City have been able to find the competitive consistency they have enjoyed in other seasons, especially in the defensive area. Real Madrid's problems in the backline are widely known, a similar turmoil to what is experienced in England.

Pep Guardiola's angry reactions to the injuries and defeats that the cityzen squad has suffered this season, as well as their defensive fragility resulting from that accumulation of absences, are notorious. They also offer a general idea of the instability that is felt, to some extent, at Etihad Stadium after a European campaign as irregular as their Premier League journey.

The main analyses of this match lead many to a very striking conclusion. Fran Garrido has been one of the first to express it on "El Chiringuito de Jugones," since "Madrid is a drama defensively as is City." According to this coach, both clubs are going through a delicate moment in managing their backlines.

Comparable Situation

Despite the new additions that Manchester City has registered during the winter market, adding two center-backs and a defensive midfielder, it is still not enough to solve it. Because that recent arrival, Nico González, would also have been injured... and players like Khusanov would not have been included in the new list of the English sports discipline for the second half of the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid also has to "juggle" to compose an exceptional defensive line. Carlo Ancelotti knows he can rely on Raúl Asencio, perhaps the most in-form defender at Real Madrid right now, to join Aurélien Tchouaméni. The debate on the right-back, since Dani Carvajal's injury, doesn't leave Lucas Vázquez in a good place.

The same occurs on the opposite side. Neither Ferland Mendy nor Fran García would have completely convinced the Reggiolo coach with their performances, but the '23' could remain as the undisputed starter for these important matches. In any case, the hours leading up to this match at Etihad Stadium will be of intense deliberation in the Madrid technical staff.

The goal is to solve the defensive shortcomings that the Madrid entity would have registered this season due to injuries. The absences of Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Éder Militão, and David Alaba have put the white club in check... a situation that Carlo Ancelotti has tried to remedy with the resources he has at his disposal.