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Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Kung_Fu_Zizou
7 Games. 7 Wins.
Real Madrid prepared for the Derbi with a scrappy mid-week affair in Valencia on what appeared more like a swamp than a football pitch as they faced Levante in a potential banana skin tie. It was a game for more experiments and rotations.
Xabi Alonso continued his unpredictable streak with a line-up that featured Alvaro Carreras at Centre-Back alongside Dean Huijsen. Fran made his first start of the season at Left-Back and Raul Asencio filled in at Right-Back. Ceballos came in for Tchouameni to partner Fede Valverde while Vinicius and Franco flanked Kylian Mbappe in attack. Needless to say Xabi Alonso’s experiment was a resounding success, only mitigated by the scoreline. Vinicius put on his best display of the season. Franco scored his first goal for the club and Kylian Mbappe topped it off with what seemed like a routine brace for the high-flying Frenchman.
Franco Is A Monster
It has become commonplace for the scouting department at the Bernabeu to find young talents who fit the club. Franco has been a breath of fresh air. After years of agonising over the right side of attack, we finally have a solution. The 18-year old still has a long way to go but he looks comfortable in the white shirt. He belongs. Now that he’s got that first goal.. as if he needed more confidence.
Xabi Alonso was adamant he wanted the young Argentine to be important immediately. We are starting to see why. The boy is still raw but he does so many things so well. With rotations in full swing we will see Franco in and out of the side but with very little competition on that right side. The return of Jude Bellingham throws a spanner in the works. We are likely to see the 4-CM experiment more often now that all the midfielders are healthy. This would mean Franco will share time with Vini, Rodrygo and Brahim.
Franco has taken to life in Madrid like a duck to water. Keeping in mind how often Xabi rotates the players and adjusts the tactics, the youngster has done really well to look out of place in new surroundings. I had my doubts about him. It is only fair I sing his praises when he does well.
Alvaro Carreras Is A Monster
The Spanish fullback who started his career as a winger has been another instant hit in the capital. He has been one of the reasons the team has looked so solid defensively.
Before he returned to Madrid, Carreras looked more potent on the offensive side of things but under the tutelage of Xabi Alsonso we’re seeing a defensive masterclass, one after the other, game after game. The most impressive aspect of his defending has been his ability to see where the danger is even stepping in to cover Tchouameni at times. It looks increasingly that there will be no need for playing with a back 3 as the back 4 and midfield get more and more used to how they rotate and cover each other. Moreover, Carreras has shown he can play Centre-Back in a back 4.
He’s also been brilliant in possession with his ability to carry the ball, his passing, switches of play and also off the ball movement to provide an outlet. It’s still very early days but he looks like the kind of signing who solves a problem for 10 years.
Kylian On A War Path
Kylian Mbappe is just on a tear in 2025. He’s picked up where he stopped at the end of last season. This season, he’s leading the team by pressing from the front. He does everything with enthusiasm. This is a player who is living his dream. He looks willing to do what it takes to win. Xabi Alonso seems to understand how to get the best out of him and I will not be surprised if he reaches 100 goals for Real Madrid at the end of this season. He’s got every kind of goal in him. He can’t stop scoring at the moment and he scores for fun in big games throughout his career. There’s every chance to win everything this season but we go day by day.
Xabi Alonso is Perfect.. So Far
The manager has brought in a new way of doing things and so far it has been perfect. The team have not dropped points. The team has scored goals and created chances for fun. The squad is being used to it’s fullest extent and we have seen a drop in injuries. If things continue in this vein, we will be competing for every bit of silverware out there. Before the start of the season I was confident we would win La Liga. That confidence has grown.
We have the Derbi coming up and that will show us an idea of our level in must-win games. This derbi will not be the toughest game of the season. Atletico are not in great form and even though they always turn-up when we come to town, we will be overwhelming favourites for the game.
