Real Madrid find an unlikely solution to their midfield woes | OneFootball

Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were once again instrumental as Real Madrid won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League titles last season. Despite being the younger of the two, it was Toni Kroos who bade his farewell to the club last summer, as he wanted to retire at the top, and there few players could have dreamed of a retirement as good as that of the German maestro.

However, his decision to retire left a gaping hole in the Real Madrid midfield, as the Merengues had simply gotten used to his impeccable game over the last decade. Even as Los Blancos made peace with the fact that they would not have the German in their ranks for this season, they knew it would be impossible to replace him with another player.

The only way to mitigate the impact of his departure was to come up with a new midfield scheme that would allow Carlo Ancelotti to maximize the strengths of other top-class midfielders in his squad, including Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, and the inheritor of Kroos’ number, Federico Valverde.

However, few people could have forecasted that it would be Dani Ceballos who would gain more prominence in the Real Madrid midfield with Kroos’ departure.

The Spaniard had been seeing his importance decline in the team, as there were not only the two unicorns, Kroos and Modric, in the squad, but also other star names like Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham, and Tchouameni to compete with for minutes.

But things took an unexpected turn as Carlo Ancelotti tried to find his best midfield formula for this season. Valverde, Camavinga, Tchouameni, and Bellingham were the most likely starters for him, at least keeping in view their abilities on paper, but such a midfield provided too much muscle and too little technicality and creativity.

To solve this issue, Ancelotti started giving more prominence to the 39-year-old Luka Modric, but while he provided some solutions, his inclusion in the lineup also created other problems, and at such an advanced age he would also have struggled to remain at the top of his game in such a grueling season.

Amid all this chaos, the Real Madrid trainer turned to Dani Ceballos, especially following the injury to Aurelien Tchouameni. Surprisingly, the Spaniard’s inclusion has been paying good dividends, and his presence in the midfield finally seems to have provided the Merengues’ midfield with the balance that remained elusive at the start of the season.

Ceballos himself has been taking full advantage of the opportunities coming his way, and his importance in the squad has increased considerably lately. Up to now, he has 7 appearances in La Liga with 4 starts, while another 4 appearances in the UCL with 1 start, which came in the game against Atalanta.

According to Sofascore, he remained on the pitch for 84 minutes in that game, getting 68 touches on the ball. Despite Atalanta’s suffocating press in the middle of the pitch, the former Real Betis player was able to complete 49 of his 51 attempted passes, thus recording a 96% passing success rate. He only lost the ball 3 times and won 6 of his 10 ground duels on the night.

Similarly, his defensive contributions were also key for Real Madrid, as he made 4 clearances, 2 interceptions, and 2 tackles, and showed incredible energy to help the Merengues’ defence whenever Atalanta threatened with the ball.

This was yet another performance from Ceballos with which he proved his utility to Carlo Ancelotti. Hopefully, the Real Madrid coach will have taken good note of his performance, and will ensure he gets the best out of him as it is clear that he can provide the required solutions.