Now that the 2020-2021 season is officially over for Real Madrid, it’s time to take a look back at what we learned and how all the players performed. The easiest way to do that is to grade individuals based on how they did in all competitions this past season.
Let’s start with the fullbacks. Due to injuries on defense, six fullbacks received meaningful minutes and will be graded in this piece on a scale from 1 to 10, with six being about average, as with player ratings after matches.
How did each man grade out? Let’s find out, starting with the most important of the fullbacks, Ferland Mendy on the left side of the defense.
LB Ferland Mendy
After a strong first season with Real Madrid, Ferland Mendy continued his fine defensive work in the 2020-2021 season for Los Blancos. The former Lyon man was vital to Real, as the team rarely lost with him in the starting XI. And when he went down with injury, Los Blancos suffered, especially in the first leg draw with Chelsea in the Champions League.
Mendy is one of the best one-on-one defenders at the fullback position. He still has work to do offensively when it comes to his crossing and first touch, but as his incredible goal against Atalanta showed us, he can capture moments of magic on the attacking end.
A hard-worker and ball-carrier for this offense, Mendy is very smart at positioning himself whenever Vinicius Junior or even Karim Benzema need a “safety” option on that left side when they cannot take on multiple defenders.
Mendy may have to watch out for Miguel Gutierrez’s rise, but, for now, he is the starter and a key player for Real Madrid. You cannot underestimate what he does for this defense, and he even averaged 1.7 dribbles per game in all competitions, per WhoScored.com.
Rating: 7.5