Carlo Ancelotti's Scouting Trip Turns into Frustration
Carlo Ancelotti’s weekend was supposed to be about scouting. It turned into a lesson in frustration.
The Real Madrid coach flew into London on Saturday to watch Tottenham v Newcastle, joining Italy manager Roberto Mancini in the stands with a shared purpose: take a close look at several Italy and Brazil internationals. On paper, it was a rich target list. In reality, most of the names never made it onto the pitch.
A scouting trip that fell flat
Mancini at least got one of his priorities. Sandro Tonali started for Newcastle, giving the Azzurri boss a useful 90-minute window on the midfielder’s form. Destiny Udogie, another Italian under his watch, appeared only as a substitute for Spurs, offering just a brief glimpse.
That was pretty much where the good news ended.
The Brazilian contingent both men had expected to monitor simply vanished from the team sheets. Richarlison was nowhere to be seen for Tottenham as speculation over his future in London continued to swirl. Savio, the £85 million signing from Manchester City who had scored on his Spurs debut against Charlton, missed out through injury. So did Newcastle’s Joelinton, another key Brazilian absent from the action.
Sousa, another Brazilian option at Spurs, remained on the fringes, still behind Ben Davies and Udogie in Ange Postecoglou’s hierarchy and again left outside the main plans.
For Ancelotti, who had lined up this trip specifically to assess several of these players up close, the absences cut the heart out of the mission.
From Paris drama to London disappointment
The Italian had already put in the miles. On Friday night he was in France, watching his son Davide’s Lille side take on Paris Saint-Germain. That, too, looked like a rewarding evening until stoppage time tore it away.
Lille were 2–0 up and cruising as the clock hit 90 minutes. Then the game collapsed. Vitinha struck in the 91st minute to haul PSG back into it. Marquinhos levelled in the 95th. A statement win for Davide dissolved in four brutal minutes.
Ancelotti left France with a draw that felt like a defeat, then headed straight for England hoping Saturday would at least deliver clarity on his scouting list. Instead, he walked into another kind of let-down.
Elanga decides it on the pitch
On the field, the match itself did offer a clear headline. Anthony Elanga, the Sweden international, produced the decisive moment just after the hour. His 60th-minute strike settled the contest in Newcastle’s favour and gave the visitors the edge they had been probing for.
For Newcastle, it was a sharp, clinical intervention. For the two high-profile observers in the stands, it was almost incidental.
The game ended with Elanga as the match-winner, Tonali and Udogie the only real data points for Mancini, and Ancelotti heading home having barely seen the players he had travelled to study.
Two nights, two countries, two late twists. One for his son, one for his scouting plans. The season will offer more chances, but Ancelotti will expect the next trip to yield more than empty seats on a team sheet.
