"Should have been Tchouameni" - Real Madrid fans surprised as veteran star starts in unnatural postion for UCL clash against Stuttgart

Real Madrid fans have been surprised by Daniel Carvajal's unnatural position in Los Blancos' starting XI against VfB Stuttgart. The two sides will face off in their UEFA Champions League 2024-25 season opener on September 17, 2024 at Santiago Bernabeu. The Spanish giants became the champions of Europe for the 15th time last season and will look to start their title defense with a win.

Netizens have taken to X to discuss Carlo Ancelotti's decision to start Daniel Carvajal as a center-back along with Antonio Rudiger. The Spaniard has predominantly been a right-back for Los Blancos with players like Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger manning the center-back positions.

Some popular reactions on X are as follows:

"Carvajal?? Should have been Tchouameni instead," commented one fan on X.

"Carvajal CB and no Arda? This is haram ball," agreed another.

"carvajal cb on a champions league night," quipped one fan.

Another fan asked sarcastically:

"Carvajal is playing as a CB?"

"Carvajal at CB when we have Vallejo?! I blame the board for not signing a CB in the summer!!!" inferred a netizen.

"Apparently the rotation is starting carvajah as CB instead of vallejo," quipped another fan.

Carlo Ancelotti has gone with the usual front three consisting of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., and Rodrygo Goes. The midfield is manned by Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Federico Valverde. Finally, Ferland Mendy, Antonio Rudiger, Carvajal, and Lucas Vazquez make up the backline with Thibaut Courtois in between the sticks for Real Madrid.

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Real Madrid have never played against VfB Stuttgart in history

Carlo Ancelotti's side has never faced Vfb Stuttgart in an official fixture and will have to adapt to an entirely unknown opposition on September 17. However, statistics are slightly in favor of the home side.

Real Madrid have lost only once in their last 21 games against German opposition in the UEFA Champions League. The defeat came in October 2022 against RB Leipzig when they lost by a 3-2 margin in the group stage. Los Blancos have won their last two La Liga matches (against Real Betis and Real Sociedad), and would not want to break the winning streak against VfB Stuttgart.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Hoeneß's side are playing their first UEFA Champions League game in 14 years. The last game they played was against Barcelona in 2010, which ended in a thumping 4-0 defeat. However, they defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in their last Bundesliga match and would want to continue their winning form.