Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from an impressive win over Getafe

Real Madrid’s back three was sublime

Due to all the absences, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane decided to roll with his seldom-used “back three” formation. Sergio Ramos was out and Eder Militao was also injured, so Nacho Fernandez, Raphael Varane, and Ferland Mendy started (from right to left).

All three of them were fantastic. Nacho has been quietly great all season long, while Varane followed up his heroic display at Huesca with another world-class performance.

But the best of the trio was undoubtedly left back Ferland Mendy. The young French defender has the potential to be a standout center back one day. His pathway to that position is difficult if Real can hold onto both Ramos and Varane, but if they somehow lose one or even both stars, Mendy is a name to keep in mind in central defense.

He’s always been great defensively, but he was at another level as a left-sided center back in the back three. Mendy recovered so many loose balls and did oh-so-well to score Real’s second. Mendy’s pass started the move, and his run into the box finished it.

It’s worth noting that Mendy was great as a passer as well. He had a team-high 86 pass attempts with 97.7 percent of his passes completed, according to WhoScored.com.