Numerous injuries, particularly among defensively oriented players, forced Carlo Ancelotti to improvise for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Arsenal. It didn’t go well—Real returned to Madrid with three goals in their net and now faces an extremely tough challenge in their quest to continue defending the European crown. Among the players who had to switch positions was David Alaba, who has struggled to find his rhythm after a long break due to a knee injury. The Austrian returned to the team at the start of the year but has yet to complete a full match. In the 600 minutes he’s played, he hasn’t looked like the player he was before the injury. It’s clear that he needs more games to regain his confidence, but his performance against the Gunners won’t help with that.This is a 25% Bukayo Saka getting absolutely pocketed by Real Madrid and David Alaba.. pic.twitter.com/WxNGFLgFzN https://t.co/RJkAhNvsHr— 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐧 (@seanafc_) April 9, 2025 For the first time in a long while, Alaba had to play at left-back. Ancelotti prepared him for it in the final 20 minutes of the match against Valencia, but the former Bayern Munich defender couldn’t cope with Bukayo Saka. The Englishman, nearly 10 years younger, gave him serious trouble and left him not only with problems ahead of next Wednesday’s return leg in Madrid, but also regarding a possible contract extension with Real. The current deal between the Madrid club and David Alaba runs until the summer of 2026, which means extension talks could begin during the upcoming season. If the club is interested, that is—but according to AS, which is well-informed about developments at Santiago Bernabeu, there are currently no positive signs. Largely due to Alaba’s performances since returning to the team.Nine lives of Carlo AncelottiIt’s well known that Florentino Perez is not keen on extending contracts for players who have entered their 30s, and Alaba turns 33 on June 24. Antonio Rudiger is in a similar position, having recently turned 32. However, the German is the third most-used player at Real this season (behind Valverde and Mbappe) and has scored several crucial goals for the club recently—like the final penalty to eliminate Manchester City last season in the Champions League quarterfinals, or goals against Atletico Madrid in the current Champions League round of 16 and against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semifinal.Arsenal full of heavy loaded Gunn(er)s tilted King’s crown!Considering Eder Militao is expected to recover before the start of next season, and that Florentino Perez is reportedly preparing 50 million euros for Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen, along with Raul Asencio proving himself in 16 appearances, it’s likely that one of the veterans will have to part ways with Real at the end of their contracts—if not both. At the moment, Alaba seems closer to leaving.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 31Friday22:00: (2.35) Valencia (3.15) Sevilla (3.25)Saturday15:00: (1.85) Sociedad (3.40) Mallorca (4.60)17:15: (1.80) Getafe (3.40) Las Palmas (4.90)19:30: (1.67) Celta (3.60) Espanyol (5.70)22:00: (8.00) Leganes (5.30) Barcelona (1.35)Sunday15:00: (2.50) Osasuna (3.25) Girona (2.90)17:15: (5.60) Alaves (3.70) Real Madrid (1.65)19:30: (2.35) Betis (3.45) Villareal (2.95)22:00: (1.67) Ath.Bilbao (3.50) Rayo Vallecano (5.80)Monday22:00: (1.15) Atl.Madrid (7.75) Valladolid (19.0)***odds are subject to change***
