Real Madrid: 5 burning questions from the draw with Real Sociedad

How underrated is Lucas Vazquez?

Real Madrid right back Lucas Vazquez caught heat from fans for the giveaway that led to Real Sociedad’s goal, and he should shoulder some blame for that mistake. But there were other defensive players culpable in the lead-up to Portu’s opener. Moreover, we would not have weighed the mistake as harshly if Portu did not take his chance so well, as Marco Asensio and other players had significantly more giveaways with considerably fewer positive plays.

Because that’s the thing I love the most about Vazquez. He’ll mess up, but he will never get discouraged and will work his ass off for the team to make things right in the end. As a whole, Vazquez was the team’s leader in key passes with five, which has not been an uncommon occurrence over the past couple of months. And, of course, he had the winning assist.

Defensively, Vazquez tied Nacho Fernandez for the team lead with three tackles. Again, a sign of the work he puts in to help the team.

Vazquez will likely leave the team at the end of the season due to differences in opinion over his salary, and he will be missed. For all the insults we have hurled at Vazquez in the past, he has been a vital player to Real Madrid this season. He is one of those players every great team loves to have in the squad, because he makes no excuses and never stops working. The man is quite underrated by fans outside of Madrid right now; they don’t see the weekly work that we do. If he leaves Madrid, his next employer will be very lucky to have him.