Real Madrid: 3 Man of the Match candidates at Levante

Real Madrid LB Ferland Mendy

Real Madrid will be without star right back Dani Carvajal against Levante, as the world-class fullback will be forced to miss a couple of months after picking up an injury during training. Parte Medico FC, right?

Anyway, Alvaro Odriozola, Nacho Fernandez, or Lucas Vazquez could all start on the right against Levante, but I have my eyes on the left side of the defense. Ferland Mendy is totally fresh after resting on Wednesday when veteran backup Marcelo got the start.

Mendy has played decently well to start the 2020-2021 La Liga season. The best summer signing of 2019 thus far in his Real Madrid career, Mendy established himself as the best defensive fullback in world football last season. This season, per WhoScored.com, he’s already averaging 2.5 dribbles per game and 2.0 interceptions per game.

The definition of a two-way fullback, Mendy’s defending is so good that people tend to forget how good he is offensively. Mendy combines effort with positional intelligence and explosiveness on the ball to be an effective ball-carrier and one-vs-one dribbler on the left side. His passing has steadily gotten better, and he showed a real goal threat this summer with a stunning strike in the win over Granada.

Look for Mendy to have a statement game against Levante on the left side with Carvajal out. It’s always a joy to watch him combine with Eden Hazard or Vinicius Junior in the attack.