96 touches, 3 key passes and 0 times dribbled past: Real Madrid pivot steps up to the occasion against Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

Heading into the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Real Madrid knew it would not be an easy task against a well-drilled Atletico Madrid.

Jude Bellingham (ruled out due to a suspension) and Dani Ceballos (ruled out due to an injury) were not in the squad, which meant Carlo Ancelotti was thin on options and had to find the best possible combinations in the midfield.

Eduardo Camavinga had not had a good game for a while, Arda Güler had fallen out of favor, and starting a 39-year-old Luka Modric for a second consecutive game and expecting him to play another 90 minutes, may not have been a wise idea.

The Italian manager relied on Camavinga and his fellow Frenchman, Aurelien Tchouaméni, who was the lone pivot in midfield.

Tchouameni was an integral part until last season as the team went unbeaten for 40 games whenever he started – a run which started from the opening game of the 2023/24 seasons against Athletic Bilbao, till the sensational comeback victory against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Since then, the 25-year-old had been a shadow of himself. This season, it was evident that he would be at his best when in midfield and not as a center-back, and that night – he had to step up if Real Madrid were to stand a chance.

The fans were surely not disappointed with how the Frenchman played, making life difficult for the Atletico attackers from the edge of the box and making eye-catching combinations in the midfield.

According to Sofascore statistics, Tchouameni had the joint most touches in the match (96) and also the most accurate passes on the night (86/90). He played 3 key passes, won both his ground duels, and made 3 interceptions and 2 tackles in what was a well-fought game by both sides.

An even more outstanding stat was the fact that no Atletico player was able to dribble past Tchouameni.

Perhaps Carlo Ancelotti is beginning to see how well the Frenchman plays in his natural position. When playing as a centre-back, most of the time Tchouameni looked off-colour and not at his best by any means.

Real Madrid scraped past their city rivals in the 1st leg and now hold a slender lead heading into the 2nd leg at the Wanda Metropolitano next week. The environment will be hostile – as always – but on such nights, big players know how to rise to the occasion and Aurelien Tchouaméni will hope to replicate or put on an even better display.