Real Madrid find unexpected ally in battle against La Liga’s gruelling schedule – ‘They are right’ | OneFootball

Real Sociedad are dealing with the same scheduling issue as Real Madrid this matchday. Their fixture against Rayo Vallecano was set less than 72 hours after their previous match, which took place on Thursday at Old Trafford.

This situation mirrors Real Madrid’s recent frustration when they had to play Villarreal with minimal rest.

Carlo Ancelotti had expressed his displeasure over the tight schedule, making it clear that his team would not tolerate such treatment again.

Given this context, Real Sociedad’s manager, Imanol Alguacil, was also asked for his opinion on the matter.

Real Madrid are right to oppose

Before his side’s match against Rayo Vallecano, Imanol spoke about the issue, and his views were quite similar to Ancelotti’s.

He acknowledged the unfair scheduling, emphasising that both Real Sociedad and Real Madrid have had to play frequently with little recovery time.

“I think it was a moment of overheating, a product of this barbarism that both Real Madrid and ourselves have suffered.

Imanol Alguacil also voiced his concern over fixture congestion. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“We are the two teams that have played the most and with the least rest, I would say that even we have had more,” he said as quoted by MARCA.

The upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final

The discussion then shifted to Real Madrid’s upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final second leg. The match is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:30 pm, which follows their La Liga clash on Saturday at 9:00 pm.

While the usual 72-hour recovery period would not be met before the semi-final, there would still be 72 hours between the start times of the two matches.

On paper, this may seem acceptable, but in reality, it fails to provide adequate recovery time for a high-intensity game.

Imanol recognised the legitimacy of Madrid’s complaints and agreed that the situation is far from ideal. He pointed out how difficult it becomes to compete under such conditions, especially with injuries piling up due to fatigue.

“They are right and it is very difficult to compete like this, look at how many players we had to leave for the game,” he concluded.