Wednesday’s match against City left a handful of good news for Madrid: the hat-trick of Kylian Mbappe that gave the pass to Los Blancos, the solidity of the double pivot Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni, the reliability of Marco Asensio, the return of Antonio Rudiger… But, above all, Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied with the performance as a right-back of Fede Valverde, an ’emergency’ solution that might not be so much.
With Carvajal on the sidelines for several months and Lucas still not recovered from a muscle injury, the Uruguayan has been Madrid’s right-back in the last three games, the two against City and the LaLiga match against Osasuna. In Pamplona he provided an assist and against Guardiola‘s side at the Bernabeu, he put in two tense passes from the right flank that were not taken advantage of by the forwards. But, beyond that, his performance was outstanding both in attack and defence. He was solid at the back (although admittedly City hardly attacked except in the final stages, when Madrid blatantly took their foot off the gas to save energy), giving fluidity to the ball out, being an extra midfielder in transitions and appearing frequently and dangerously in attacking positions. The truth is that Fede is enjoying the freedom that comes with playing as a wing-back, with much more space to exploit his physicality, which is almost always differential, and plenty of quality to do the job.
Ancelotti already said that Fede was “the third best right-back in the world“, and the last few games indicate that the Italian’s words were neither hollow nor gratuitous praise. The Uruguayan’s step ‘back’ (actually forward because he has much more offensive weight) has also allowed the Madrid coach to create a solid double pivot, with football and capacity for sacrifice, formed by Ceballos and Tchouameni, which seems to be the best structure of those tested so far to support the attack formed by Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Mbappe. Suddenly all the pieces fit together and Madrid have just signed with this structure perhaps their best game of the season, with Tchouameni finally in his natural position thanks to the return of Rudiger
Fede Valverde: “I’m doing well”
Ancelotti is delighted, and so is the player. “For now, I’m happy because I’m doing well in that position,” he said in the press conference before the second leg against City. “We know that I’m playing because other players are missing and I have to respond in that position. I think I’ve done quite well the time I’ve had to play there. I try to give my best, trying to get into attack, trying to defend… I’m willing to help the team and the coach, to what he wants. Obviously, if in the future I don’t have many opportunities to play in the middle, I’m sure I’m going to play as a full-back. It’s a position that I’m enjoying. It’s all new, I’m learning, I’m still playing and I’m still in the eleven and that’s important for me.”
So Ancelotti is happy, Valverde is happy and the club… well, the club is in a new, and surely unexpected, situation, as reinforcing the right-back position was one of the big priorities for next summer. It still is, and the target is perfectly defined. It is none other than Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s right-back, who there was even a chance (albeit a remote one) of signing in the last winter transfer window. But what if Valverde is a right-back? If the team works, the player enjoys himself and the club still has Carvajal to come back, could the scenario change for the summer? That is the situation right now at Real Madrid, with the team functioning better than ever this season thanks to a new structure in which Valverde is, in any position, always a key player.
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