Real Madrid went to Levante – well, more or less – and scored their first multi-goal win of the season, with an early goal from Vinícius and a late one from Karim Benzema, giving them the 2-0 victory. Here come six talking points from the game, in the form of three questions that were answered and three questions that need answered.
Three responses
1. Who would occupy the right-back position and how would they do it?
Official statement. Official statement. Thus, Real Madrid announced this week that its two right-backs were injured and out for at least the next few weeks. Without Dani Carvajal and without Álvaro Odriozola for this trip to Levante and with José Luis Morales on the other side, there was concern when arriving at this on that right side. While the options of Ferland Mendy and Lucas Vázquez were there, Zidane finally opted for Nacho. The 30-year-old was nothing special in this one and lost Nikola Vukčević in a corner, with Levante’s minute hitting the wood. But overall, Nacho did a good enough job to more or less contain Morales.
2. Would Courtois finally have a quiet afternoon?
No. Once again, Courtois was a busy man. He faced four more shots on target and saved them all, making particularly impressive saves from Enis Bardhi. That’s 13 saves already for the Courtois season. Only Valencia Jaume Doménech (22) and Eibar Marko Dmitrović (14) have more. That a Real Madrid goalkeeper is in the top three in the league for saves made is simply not a good image and Zidane knows it. In his post-match press conference he said: “Courtois saved us, as all goalkeepers seek to do for their team. We have to move on and we will try to make our goalkeeper suffer a little less ”.
3. How rare would it be to see this game at La Cerámica?
Looking ahead to this game, there was a lot of talk about the last time Real Madrid faced Levante. That was the 1-0 loss in February in which Eden Hazard re-injured his ankle. It was logical that the thoughts would return to that match, but Real Madrid would not be living any ghost of the Estadi Ciutat de València. Not any of that. Instead, they went to the Villarreal Ceramic Stadium for this one, since the Levante stadium is being worked on, as is the Bernabéu. Levante will return home very soon and are not expected to play at Villarreal again as a home team, but it was certainly strange to have the yellow stands as a backdrop for this match.
Three questions
1. Will we see a rivalry from the Fernandez family next time?
Given that Odriozola may not yet be available for Real Madrid’s next game, against Cádiz after the break, there may be a Nacho vs Álex Fernández match on the scorecards. The two brothers went through the Real Madrid quarry together and Álex, the younger brother for two and a half years, made his debut with the Real Madrid first team before Nacho. But, Nacho has lasted much longer at Los Blancos, while the offensive midfielder went to Espanyol, Elche and now Cádiz. They met once before, in 2014, when Álex was at Espanyol. They finished 1-0 against Real Madrid that day. Let’s see what happens this time and if they both play.
2. Will Vinícius and Ansu Fati continue to motivate each other?
I know Kiyan Sobhani was mostly joking when he posted a ‘Last Dance’ meme about Vinícius and Ansu Fati during today’s game, but there’s something to that.
We see these two young superstars overcome each other week after week and they may actually be inspired to try to match. We’ve seen so many rivalries over the years, in soccer and other sports, where the best in the game push themselves to an even higher level because they have such a talented opponent right there breathing on their shoulder. We may see this with Vinícius and Ansu Fati for the next decade. Will this be the next great individual rivalry in soccer?
3. Can Luka Modrić continue like this?
Wow just wow. Luka Modrić has started this new season on fire. The man who just turned 35 continues to dazzle in the middle of the park and is also getting defensive. We know it took him a long time to recover from Croatia’s arduous run in the World Cup, but Modrić looks good for most of 2020. His contract ends at the end of the season. Will you be able to maintain this good shape for a few more months, long enough to earn an extension?
