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Three options for Arbeloa to replace key Real Madrid midfielder vs Bayern Munich following suspension
Real Madrid lost 1-2 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Despite Kylian Mbappe’s best efforts, a brilliant showing by Manuel Neuer in the Bayern Munich goal meant that the Bavarians returned home with an advantage in the blockbuster tie.
On 15 April, Real Madrid will step onto the pitch at the Allianz Arena hoping to mount a comeback against the Bundesliga champions and progress to the semi-finals.
However, they will have to do so without key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni as he will miss the second leg through suspension.
The Frenchman received a yellow card against Bayern on Tuesday – which was his third in the Champions League this season, which earned him an automatic one-match ban. As such, he will be unavailable for the match in Germany, which comes as a big blow for Real Madrid.
Faced with this situation, Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa has several options to replace him in midfield for the upcoming fixture against Die Roten.
Eduardo Camavinga
One would think the most logical option to replace Tchouameni in the centre of the park for Real Madrid would be his compatriot Eduardo Camavinga.
The Frenchman is no stranger to playing as the pivot midfielder and has operated in that role 12 times this season (35 appearances), while he has played as a No. 8 on 11 occasions.
However, there is a concern that the 23-year-old midfielder lacks the tactical discipline needed for the holding midfield role. Moreover, his performance in the last La Liga game against RCD Mallorca was very disappointing.
Federico Valverde
The next most obvious solution for Arbeloa will be to move Federico Valverde into the central midfield role from his current position on the right flank.
The Real Madrid second captain could partner Thiago Pitarch in the middle of the park, while Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler take up the wider positions in the second line of press.
However, the Uruguayan international has been one of Real Madrid’s most enterprising outlets in his current role, so there will be some trade-off with moving him back into a central position.
Dean Huijsen
A left-field choice perhaps, but Arbeloa could look for a novel approach and push Dean Huijsen into the holding midfield role from central defence.
While the 20-year-old Spaniard has never played in midfield in his career, he has the necessary qualities – strong ball progression, good distribution and the understanding to provide defensive support.
With Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger expected to partner up in central defence, this could be an avenue to not lose Huijsen from the lineup.
Alternatively, Militao could also be an option as a holding midfielder, with the Brazilian having played in the position on a few occasions in his career. It would keep Huijsen in his natural role at the heart of the Real Madrid defence.
Real Madrid’s season, under the returning Jose Mourinho, has not started as expected at the club.
In terms of results, eight matches have produced six wins one draw and two defeats in all competitions. Both losses have come in La Liga (five wins), leading to the Merengues occupying the fourth place in the table.
Meanwhile, arch-rivals Barcelona have maintained a perfect winning record riding on their relentless goalscoring form, opening up a six-point lead at the table.
Mourinho is using the international break to analyse what has gone wrong and what can be improved. And, several metrics and statistics show that Real Madrid has significant room for improvement.
As highlighted a few days ago, Real Madrid are the team that covers the fewest kilometres per match in La Liga on average, at 96.5, almost ten fewer than Barcelona’s 104.5. Los Blancos are also second-bottom for high-intensity runs per match, with 394.
Possession and defensive numbers
There are further figures suggesting that Real Madrid could be doing more in terms of off-the-ball efforts and defensively.
Real Madrid also happen to be the team that commits the fewest fouls, with 59, fewer than half Espanyol’s 120, yet it is also the team that has been fouled the most in La Liga, with 97.
In terms of recoveries, the Spanish capital giants rank 16th with 302, 38 fewer than Barcelona, while they are also near the bottom for interceptions, ranking 17th.
One argument could be that these figures indicate that Real Madrid are dominating games more often than they are dominated, leaving fewer opportunities to be aggressive without the ball.
However, the numbers do not particularly support that theory either. Real Madrid average 52.3% possession, only slightly more than half.
That is a long way behind Barcelona’s 68.7% and also below Villarreal at 61.4%. Even Atlético Madrid (59.1%) and Real Betis (53.6%) outdo the Merengues.
That possession also allows Barcelona to protect themselves more effectively. The Catalans have conceded just 51 shots, including 22 on target, while Real Madrid have faced 89 shots, with 31 on target.
Finishing not up to the mark either
Real Madrid can improve defensively, but the attacking numbers also reveal significant room for growth.
The biggest issue is finishing. The Merengues have scored 18 goals, 13 fewer than Barcelona’s 31.
That is despite the two teams having taken a similar number of shots: Barça have attempted 150, compared with 131 for Los Blancos. The difference is even smaller when looking at shots on target, with 58 for Barcelona and 53 for Madrid.
Barcelona’s players score once every 1.8 shots on target, while Real Madrid stars needs almost three.
The contrast is particularly clear when comparing the leading scorers for both teams, Raphinha and Kylian Mbappe.
The Brazilian has scored 12 goals from just 25 total shots and 16 shots on target. Real Madrid’s No. 10, meanwhile, has scored seven goals from 41 attempts and 22 shots on target.
The numbers clearly show that Real Madrid have a lot of work to do, both in defence and in attack, if they are to close the gap to the top.
Source: AS
