Real Madrid: Ranking the top 5 players of February 2021

5. CB Nacho Fernandez

If Real Madrid’s defense weren’t so excellent this month – Thibaut Courtois and Lucas Vazquez were tough cuts – Nacho Fernandez would have been further up this list. The Castilla product has been a revelation for Los Blancos in recent weeks, having stepped up as Raphael Varane’s competent center back partner in Sergio Ramos’ absence due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Ramos will still miss time, but Real Madrid won’t miss a beat. Nacho is playing the football of his life right now. He is running with incredible heart, even bombarding the penalty box as Ramos does in the big Champions League games. Madridistas wondering how the team would fare without their leader at Atalanta saw Nacho rise to the occasion as one of the Men of the Match in the clean sheet.

Nacho has been crucial to Real’s string of clean sheets. He made fantastic tackles in the most recent victories over Real Valladolid and Atalanta, and he has not put a foot wrong in possession either. And that’s important, considering how frequently Los Blancos had to play out of the press early on against the darkhorse Serie A title contenders.

Real Madrid are back to their best defensively, and the brilliant 31-year-old has played a key role in that. Per WhoScored.com, Nacho has a whopping seven interceptions in his last three matches, reading the game beautifully for Los Blancos.