3 Real Madrid Decisions Ancelotti Would Have Made Differently to Rafa Benitez

The comparisons keep coming. 

"Ancelotti's Madrid had three more points and scored 16 more goals," said AS on Friday, unsatisfied with the record of Rafa Benitez's Real Madrid to date this season.

In the Spanish capital, the outlet isn't the only one. 

"Real Madrid: The numbers are not good enough," added Marca, it also noting that Benitez's outfit is well behind the pace of Carlo Ancelotti's from last season. 

Under the new boss, it's been a very different start to the new campaign to that which was witnessed last. Results-wise, stylistically, systematically, Benitez's side has stood in stark contrast to his predecessor's, his decisions giving us a Real Madrid of a completely different essence in 2015-16. 

So what decisions stand behind the changes witnessed? How has Benitez put his own stamp on this team and what might Ancelotti have done differently?

Below, we take a look. 

Positioning of Toni Kroos

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He's played as one half of a holding pair, he's played as an attacking member of a central trio and he's played as a roaming No. 10: As a midfielder, Toni Kroos this season has already performed every role there is.

A bit different to last season, huh? And not everyone is happy with it. 

"Benitez is unsure what to do with Kroos," ran a recent Marca headline, the Madrid-based daily bemoaning the absence of the German as a deep-lying playmaker. "Do you remember just how influential Kroos was during the first half of last season?" it added. 

It was during the first half of last season, of course, when Kroos' conversion from attacking midfielder to new-wave Xabi Alonso was going spectacularly well. The deepest member of a midfield three, the German, through his effortless distribution, helped Real Madrid become a ludicrously potent force as Ancelotti's team flirted with an attacking nirvana that threatened to redefine footballing principles. 

"Threatened" is the operative word here, though. Because, ultimately, they didn't. In midfield, Kroos became vulnerable, Madrid were progressively overrun and the concept, though breathtaking, was proved to be flawed. 

Admittedly, such an approach wasn't completely voluntary and was somewhat forced upon Ancelotti by the loss of Alonso. But the Italian also showed throughout 2014-15 that he had little interest in pursuing alternatives. In reserve, natural holding options in Asier Illarramendi and Lucas Silva remained largely unused, while the more powerful Sami Khedira was, in his own words, "frozen out."

Had Ancelotti continued this season, then, would he have stuck with Kroos as a notional holding midfielder? You suspect he would have. 

As such, it's in this respect where Benitez's Madrid significantly differs from that of his predecessor. To date, the Spaniard has shown a preference for the physicality of Casemiro at the base of his midfield, preferring to use Kroos in a role more like the one he played at Bayern Munich. 

The results, however, have been mixed, with Kroos appearing to miss the continuity and clarity he enjoyed under the unwavering selection policy of Ancelotti.

Priority Given to Gareth Bale

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"Built around Bale," was how Marca described it back in July. And built around Bale it is. 

For Benitez, prioritising Gareth Bale in the centre of his system has been at the core of his changes in 2015-16, given that finding a way to maximise the talents of the Welshman was one of his primary tasks upon replacing Ancelotti at Real Madrid. That likely won't change, either. His job depends on it. 

Just ask Ancelotti. 

According to AS, it was the Italian's removal of Bale during Madrid's clash with Valencia in January that fractured the former manager's relationship with president Florentino Perez. "Once he removed him and I reproached him and Carlo didn't understand it," Perez reportedly told his board of directors prior to announcing the sacking of Ancelotti. "To remove Bale is to attack me."

Under Ancelotti, Bale progressively became a problematic issue for the Italian. Stuck out on the right, the club's record signing grew increasingly detached from those around him, but Ancelotti wasn't in favour of streamlining the team to specially cater for the Welshman. 

Instead, the former manager preferred to leave Bale as simply one component of his attack rather than the central focus of it, and in a recent interview with L'Equipe (h/t Tom Williams of AFP), Ancelotti explained his reservations for the system Benitez is using now: 

In the same interview, Ancelotti added: "Real Madrid are solid defensively, they don't concede many goals. However they do have some problems in attack." 

Safe to say he wouldn't be using the system Benitez is now. 

Basis of Formation

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When Benitez arrived at Real Madrid in the summer, it was well known that his systematical preference was a 4-2-3-1. 

Consequently, we've quickly seen Los Blancos adopt that shape this season, but it also hasn't been the only one. At various stages, we've also seen a 4-3-3, a 4-4-1-1, a 4-3-2-1 and a 4-1-4-1 from Madrid this term—some of them in the same game. 

But it's not simply the shape and the way it's been tinkered with that's been significant; it's been the foundation of the formation that's changed even more substantially. 

Indeed, what Benitez is doing at present is reverting Madrid to a more powerful definition. In pre-season, he spoke of "improving the team's physicality," looking to take the club away from the more intricate existence they drifted toward in the second season of Ancelotti's tenure. 

Such an evolution had occurred, of course, because the addition of James Rodriguez at the expense of Angel Di Maria had changed the dynamic of Ancelotti's squad, leaving the Italian with a bevy of technicians and fewer athletes. Consequently, the former manager constructed his hybrid 4-4-2/4-3-3 from a foundation of precision rather than power—the thing Benitez is looking to reverse now. 

With Bale used centrally, with Casemiro prominent in midfield and with direct wingers such Jese and Lucas Vazquez enjoying more playing time than expected, Benitez's system is taking on a more athletic feel or stance. 

It wasn't the Ancelotti way.