Open Thread: 28 July 2022

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, KungFuZizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and Felipejack.

Mendy is the starter.

During the first game of the preseason, Rudiger played as left-back. Ancelotti stated he didn’t want to break the Militao and Alala duo. Rumours followed stating Mendy would have a rotational role this season. It’s true that, with Rudiger in the squad, Ancelotti definitely has much more flexibility in how he chooses his defensive line from game to game. But the starter still is Mendy:

It’s clear that the starter is Mendy, but we have backups there for when he can’t play. We could have a more attacking profile in David Alaba, or a more controlled one in Rüdiger.”

And, if I have to guess, the starting CBs continue to be Militão and Alaba.

UCL team will start the Super Cup

For the Super Cup, Ancelotti will probably deploy the same team that started vs Liverpool in the UCL final.

We have to keep in mind the players who won the Champions League. The Super Cup is related to last season and we have to end last season by winning The Super Cup. The players who I think will play more in the Super Cup will get more playing time against Juventus.

Will Real sign a forward?

Two players are being linked to Real Madrid: Edin Dzeko (report from Onda Cero) and Timo Werner.