Ancelotti Explains Why He Picked Asensio Over Rodrygo to Take Penalty vs Mallorca

• Carlo Ancelotti has disclosed why he asked Marco Asensio to play a penalty against Mallorca instead of Rodrygo
• Asensio could have brought Real Madrid back in the game but missed his penalty in the second half
• Real Madrid were defeated 1-0 by RCD Mallorca on Sunday

Real Madrid suffered another setback in the defence of their La Liga title as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to RCD Mallorca at Son Moix today.

The Los Blancos had a great chance to reduce the five-point gap to leaders Barcelona and put pressure on their rivals.

However, Carlo Ancelotti's side yet again showcased a lacklustre performance and fell to a shock loss to Javier Aguirre’s men.

The home side broke the deadlock thanks to a Nacho Fernandez own goal in the 13th minute.

Mallorca damage Madrid title hopes as Asensio misses penalty

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The European champions fought back stronger and could have equalised but Marco Asensio missed his penalty at the hour mark.

In his post-match conference, Ancelotti revealed why Rodrygo did not take the penalty, as per Madrid Universal.

“I chose him. The first one is Benzema, then Modric and then it can be someone else: Kroos, Asensio, Rodrygo… I choose the penalty taker.”

"The only doubt was between Asensio and Rodrygo. I chose Asensio because I thought that Rodrygo's missed penalty at the World Cup could've affected him mentally."

When did Rodrygo miss a penalty?

Rodrygo has scored three penalty goals this season for Real Madrid. But he was one of the two Brazilians who missed their shots in the penalty shootout against Croatia in the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. As a consequence, Brazil were eliminated from the competition.

Asensio a penalty taker?

Asensio might be great at penalties in training but he lacks the experience. The Spaniard has only one penalty goal in his career which he scored back in 2017 against Fuenlabrada.

Real Madrid suffer another injury blow in huge worry

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How Real Madrid lost at Mallorca

Real Madrid's hopes of retaining La Liga were dented Sunday as the champions fell 1-0 at Real Mallorca, to remain five points behind leaders Barcelona.

The Catalans host Sevilla later on and can open up an eight point lead after a frustrated Madrid fell against Javier Aguirre's side, with Marco Asensio missing a penalty against his former club.

Nacho's 13th minute looping header into his own net separated the teams in a hard-fought clash, frequently slowed by various fouls from the hosts.

Injury update on Militao and Benzema

Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has dropped the tentative date for the return of Karim Benzema but is unsure when Eder Militao will be fully fit again.

Both Real Madrid stars suffered varying degrees of injuries after they were substituted early as Los Blancos defeated Valencia to keep their La Liga hopes alive.

According to Sportskeeda, Ancelotti has revealed that the injury to Militao is more serious than that of Benzema who expects to be fit for Los Blancos’ next league game.