Can Nacho Fernandez hold up for Real Madrid?
With Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola out with injuries, Real Madrid have looked to Nacho Fernandez to step up at the right back position. Odriozola could return for Los Blancos after the international break when the team faces newly-promoted Cadiz, but Carvajal will miss months with an MCL injury.
Nacho wasn’t poor against Levante, but he was clearly targeted by Levante over Ferland Mendy. Levante knew they wouldn’t have luck challenging Mendy’s positioning and pace, but they had a field day dealing with the slow-footed, rusty Nacho, who clearly lacked sharpness on and off the ball in comparison to Mendy.
Last season, Nacho was a hero several times for Real Madrid, scoring a winning goal against Real Valladolid and playing well against the likes of Sevilla. He is a useful, often under-appreciated role player for Los Blancos.
But he is also the clear weak link on the pitch for a number of reasons. On a defense with Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, and Ferland Mendy as among the best player at their positions, Nacho sticks out as THE player opposing teams will try to test.
That said, Nacho is, technically, a sound player. He had three tackles and 95 percent of his passes completed against Levante. He’s not a terrible player by any means, but he has questions to answer when on that right side.