Ancelotti faces Benzema replacement dilemma ahead of crucial games

Madrid, Feb 9 (EFE).- Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has to come up with a contingency plan as Karim Benzema remains doubtful for their upcoming games against Villarreal in LaLiga and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

The Frenchman has been recovering from a left hamstring injury which made the Spanish powerhouse look flat in their hard-fought 1-0 LaLiga win over Granada and 1-0 Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

With Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Gareth Bale seemingly falling out of favor with the Italian coach, Isco played the role of a false nine against Granada.

Jovic, whose stint at Real Madrid has yet to live up to the hype before his move in 2019, came off the bench against the Andalusians.

After the Granada game, Ancelotti said the Serb was not fit, having tested positive for the coronavirus on 30 December.

Vinicius, the team’s second top-scorer behind Benzema, will be available again after serving a one-match suspension.

He is expected to be the cornerstone of Ancelotti’s attacking line alongside Marco Asensio, who scored the winner against Granada. EFE

omb/ta/jt