Real Madrid beat Alaves 1-0 in a tense atmosphere at the Mendizorrotza Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A great goal from Eduardo Camavinga ensured Real Madrid’s first win in three attempts as they tried to keep up with Barcelona in the title race.
Here are three observations:
Eduardo Camavinga, reformed
Camavinga had one of his best performances of the season against Alaves. Even if the goal is taken aside, the French midfielder looked… reformed. He looked different. His role was different. It was more fun, and it suited his game a lot more than playing as a sole pivot.
Camavinga was not just winning duels — 12 of them, to be precise — he was also making some brilliant and important challenges near the box. He kept going past players at will in advanced positions, and also scored a great goal to give Real Madrid the win.
Camavinga’s ability to be press-resistant is at its best when he is playing as an eight. His passing was better — although it could use some polishing (34/42) — but most importantly, he was using his ball carrying to do a lot of good. He completed six dribbles and went up to advanced positions to play the final pass or even the final shot, and it was a really nice showing from Camavinga.
Things could be improved on, of course — he is still only 22, but Camavinga showed in just one game how good he really can be. Three tackles, two interceptions, three clearances and one block — he filled up the stat sheet. More of this.
A more confident Arda Güler
This does not mean much. Barely anything, but I enjoyed Güler’s performance against Alaves.
He should have probably played more than he did, and there are a lot of things that he could improve on. The performance was not perfect, and it was not something that should make him a nailed-on starter at Real Madrid. He did not do a whole lot, actually.
But since we’re nitpicking the good and the bad, Guler looked more confident. He was helpful in Real Madrid keeping possession — whenever he was involved. He was isolated for the majority of the game, but he did well whenever he got on the ball. He won five of his eight duels, worked hard on both ends of the pitch.
The difference between this Güler and the one from a few months ago is just the eye test. I have no statistics to back this up; he just looked better. He moved better. He was more confident and assertive. There were some sequences where he’d dribble past two players and launch a brilliant cross-field long ball in a fast break. He reminded me of his Fernabahce days, which is always a good thing.
Another sequence where he did the same thing, but with a trivela pass to end the move. Just the sort of flair about him that separated this performance from what everyone has watched.
Güler has struggled, and will probably continue to do so. Vinicius Jr did so in his second season, and so did Rodrygo. It is the sophomore season slump. But he also had a few sequences where he has tapped some of his enormous potential, even if for a few seconds.
Dani Ceballos, a ray of hope
Ceballos came back to the Real Madrid lineup in the last few minutes of the match against Alaves, and in just those few minutes, he showed Real Madrid what they were missing.
He did not do much — he only played very few minutes — but he brought calm and control to Real Madrid, even if it was for the last few minutes of a game.
His long-range passing was on show, the way he shimmied past Alaves bodies was on display as well, and it was brilliant to see him back on the pitch. Real Madrid desperately need a profile like him. They need a player like him — someone who can calm things down and ping the ball wherever it needs to be pinged.
It is something Real Madrid missed against Arsenal mid-week, and have also missed in so many games after Ceballos’ injury. The only thing the Spaniard needs to be working on is to remain fit. Other than that, everything seems pretty good for the former Betis man.
