It has certainly been a minute since we last checked in on Real Madrid, and there is plenty of news to discuss since they last took to the pitch. Manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was drawing interest from the Brazilian national team, has signed a contract extension with the club. Speaking of Brazilians, forward Vinicius Jr. is off the injured list.
Let’s begin with Vinicius, who has returned to full training over the course of the past couple weeks, or thereabouts.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Jan. 3, 2024, 9:15 pm, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Real Madrid Preview Material:ย Team Newsย ย ย Starting XI Prediction
La Liga Standings: Real Madridย 1st, 45 ptsย ย Mallorca 14th, 18 pts
La Liga Form:ย Real Madrid WWDWWย ย Mallorcaย WDWDD
Google Result Probability: Real Madridย ย 78%ย ย ย Drawย 15%ย ย Mallorca 7%
Vini hasn’t featured since re-injuring his hamstring, while with Brazil during the November international period. But he’s back now, and available for selection against Mallorca on Wednesday night. He confirmed this in an interview with the club’s in-house video channel.
โIโm fine, very well,” he said.
“Now all thatโs left is for the coach to choose.โ
Moving on to Ancelotti, the club announced his extension, which will keep him at the club until 2026, yesterday. He’s the only manager to have won a domestic league title in all five of Europeโs major leagues โ Spain, France, Germany, England and Italy.
He’s also the only manager to have claimed four Champions League titles, while also holding the record for most Champions League match wins with 118.
Finally, Madrid will remain on Wednesday without the services of their long-term injury quartet: Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba. All four are recovering from torn knee ligaments.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
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