Three observations from Real Madrid’s 2-1 win vs Celta Vigo

Real Madrid get the job done, somehow.

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Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images

Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 at Balaidos on Saturday night to keep the pressure on Barcelona ahead of next week’s Clasico at the Bernabeu. Goals came from Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe in a weird game that somehow ended up as a win for Los Blancos. Here are three quick observations:

Aurelien Tchouameni’s positioning kept changing

One of the weirder things on the pitch against Celta Vigo was Tchouameni’s constant shift in terms of positioning. He did not have a great game; well, he did not have a particularly bad game, either. It had bad moments, and it also had weird moments.

The game started off with Tchouameni staying in the middle of the two defenders, which is something we rarely see. Ancelotti views him as a pivot. Fans also view him as a pivot who usually stays at the base of the midfield.

Ancelotti, in the post-game presser, tried to explain his decision. He said: “As long as he gets in between the centre-backs, that’s fine. The only thing is that, if we lose the ball, he would get forward and the centre-backs would be open. And that’s where we suffered. We have to fix it.”

I guess it makes sense in theory. It should cover the spaces left between the defenders, so that the other team can’t sling passes from the midfield to make Real Madrid pay, whereas the other midfielders can cover a lot of ground and make necessary interventions to stop the ball from coming to the Madrid box.

Well, that’s all in theory. In reality, for most of the game, it did not work. Real Madrid did improve after they scored their first goal, up to the point where they conceded one, but Celta Vigo had no difficulties getting the ball from point A to point B. Tchouameni kept getting moved; sometimes he was playing as a pivot, and for some sequences, he was seen in the right centre-back position. It was weird and disjointed, and, as Ancelotti said, when Tchouameni stepped up, it created a counter-intuitive hole in the middle of Los Blancos’ defense, which would’ve been utilised had Celta Vigo not been wasteful with their chances and Thibaut Courtois not been his usual brilliant self.

Real Madrid may need a right-back

Lucas Vazquez did not perform well against Celta Vigo. This argument is not based on one bad performance, though. Vazquez is a solid right-back, one who covers for Dani Carvajal as well as he could. But relying on him for a whole season at this age would not be wise.

Vazquez would do a solid job, but there will be some games where he will be tired and out of rhythm and form, and on those days, you need another right-back who can come through. Real Madrid may not sign one, but not having a plan B if plan A is not working, or is not in form, might not be the best idea.

Real Madrid generally do not sign players in the winter, but in special cases such as this one, it feels like they should. It’s not one bad game. I fully trust Vazquez to do well in a big game, but that is usually a one-off or a few games. It is not the bigger part of a season. And it’s not without any cover. That’s not to say he won’t generally be good. It’s just about for the games he is suspended, or out of form, or just tired.

Zinedine Zidane was in this position once when Carvajal was out for the majority of a season, and Vazquez, not used to playing at right-back all that much, was thrown into the deep end. Vazquez came out stronger than ever, and played some of his best football in a Real Madrid shirt. That will happen in a bunch of games this season as well, but to rely on one single player for almost 50 games is really difficult.

Ancelotti says they will turn to the academy if need be — Castilla currently have the worst crop of right-backs they have had in quite a while, and the one right-back who is very talented, has not even played for Castilla yet. Jesus Fortea, as talented as he is, will not play for Ancelotti if he has not even played for Raul. He will train with the first team, sure, but Ancelotti would rather put Eder Militao at right-back, and if Real Madrid’s centre-back situation gets a little worse, that will cause yet another problem that can be solved by one signing.

It probably will not happen. I don’t have any sources that can confirm my theory, but Real Madrid probably won’t sign anyone. This will all be for nothing, but it’s worth a shot.

Some more notes from the game

Kylian Mbappe looked a lot like his PSG self today. It’s been said every few weeks that Mbappe is looking like more of the player Real Madrid thought they had signed. It’s less to do with him not playing well, and more to do with his physical levels and lack of shyness.

Today, at least for a little bit, Mbappe looked less shy. He looked dangerous, and he was! The goal he scored — with incredible precision — can only come when you are not afraid to express yourself and be confident in your abilities. Mbappe is one of, if not the best player in the world. No one has to teach him how to be a certain way, but he doesn’t take the game by the scruff of its neck, so to speak, at Madrid, and we saw him do that to an extent today.

However, not to jinx him, but the game that will probably announce Mbappe to Real Madrid superstardom is going to be the Clasico. Win or lose, he will be the most dangerous player on the pitch, and that’s when the confidence will show.

Jude Bellingham was quite good as well, even though he also played in a weird position. He operated on the right side, covering a bit for Vazquez but he was involved so much in the attack that he couldn’t help the defense out as much. But he was good — he played as a midfielder who drifted wide and forward whenever he wanted, and it looked alright. It will probably take some time to grow on you, though. Also makes you wonder what happens to Rodrygo in that scenario.

Luka Modric at 39 plays better than many midfielders in their prime, and that was on full display today as he became the oldest person to play for Real Madrid. Defensive intervention on one end, defense splitting pass on the other, it was refreshing to see him introduced at a time of dire need, and he did not disappoint. Another good performance off the bench.