Can 28-year-old Real Madrid midfielder’s return salvage the season for the Merengues? | OneFootball

On paper, Real Madrid can boast of one of the best squads in the world of football, with spectacular star names present in all areas of the field. Still, the Merengues have not been able to play at a level that was expected from a team with so much star power.

After winning the UEFA Champions League and La Liga double last season, Los Blancos added Kylian Mbappe to their squad last summer to make their forward line even more awe-inspiring.

However, that transfer window saw the team losing its overall balance, especially with the departure of Toni Kroos. This lack of balance was visible in the team’s performances throughout the season and was once again pivotal as Carlo Ancelotti’s men were eliminated from the UCL at the quarter-final stage, after a 5-1 drubbing on aggregate.

As was clear in this tie against the Gunners, the midfield composed of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and Aurelien Tchouameni provided a lot of physicality, but not enough technicality to the Merengue team.

Ancelotti had faced this problem in the early phase of the season as well, but found a satisfactory solution to this problem in the form of Dani Ceballos, who proved to be the balancing ingredient for this midfield despite his relative obscurity at the start of the season.

Some of Real Madrid’s best performances this season came with the Spanish midfield playing on the pitch. However, unluckily for Los Blancos, he suffered a muscle injury at the end of February. With this injury, he missed 8 games, including the first leg against Arsenal, and was also only a substitute in the second leg.

But he was able to play around 30 minutes in that game, showing his improving fitness level. The Merengues’ UCL campaign has now ended, but the midfielder’s return will still be good news for Carlo Ancelotti, as his team remains in contention for La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

His two-way presence can help the Real Madrid midfield overcome its balance issues in these remaining matches.

The Spaniard will provide the team with some creativity, as Sofascore statistics show he averages 0.9 key passes in each game and has created 3 big chances in his 16 La Liga games so far. He can also help his team retain possession in midfield with his 95% average passing accuracy and 75% long ball accuracy.

Meanwhile, he can also provide significant cover to the defence, as he averages 0.8 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, and 3.8 ball recoveries in each match. Ceballos also enjoys a 70% duel success rate in La Liga.

With these virtues, his availability can come out to be a great help for Ancelotti, as the team looks forward to the final stretch of the season. Hopefully, he will be at his best level when Real Madrid take on Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, and help his team get at least one trophy this season.