Real Madrid: 3 players who must step up after Sergio Ramos’ knee injury
CB Nacho Fernandez
Eder Militao and Nacho Fernandez have interchanged as the third center back for Real Madrid this season, with each impressing in some matches. Between the two of them, Militao has more upside and is the future of the team, but Nacho is easier for Zinedine Zidane to trust. Strictly at center back, Nacho has had fewer below-average matches than Militao, who is a good center back but still has his growing pains.
Going into Tuesday’s match against Getafe, Militao is a question mark with an injury. He had already missed the weekend win over Huesca after picking up a suspension for an early, ill-advised red card the previous weekend vs. Levante.
Nacho likes to try to take inspiration from Sergio Ramos’ style of play when on the pitch. As we saw against Inter Milan in the Champions League group stages, Nacho will try to bomb into the penalty box to support the attack, and he has the intensity to get back defensively to avoid a catastrophe at the other end. It’s not foolproof, but Nacho’s aggressiveness pays off more often than not. And he’s been quite good on the ball with a completion percentage of 91.4.
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It will be interesting to see how Zidane manages the minutes between his two center backs, but it wouldn’t surprise Madridistas if the manager goes back to the 31-year-old as the left-sided center back next to Raphael Varane.