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Real Madrid: Analyzing all the right-wing options for the 2021/22 season

By Sai Siddhartha S

Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, Rodrygo Goes (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, Rodrygo Goes (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid’s Spanish forward Lucas Vazquez celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between SD Eibar and Real Madrid CF at the Ipurua stadium in Eibar on December 20, 2020. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid’s Spanish forward Lucas Vazquez celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between SD Eibar and Real Madrid CF at the Ipurua stadium in Eibar on December 20, 2020. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images) /

Lucas Vazquez

It is fair to say that Lucas Vazquez might be the only pure RW in the current squad, with Asensio, Rodrygo and Bale (at times) preferring to play from the left. He played as a right-back for most of the 2020/21 season, but he is still a contender for the right-wing position and might prove to be a great weapon for Carlo Ancelotti.

Lucas has never been considered as a first-choice right-winger by the fans and has been considered as a utility player by many. But during certain stages of his career, he has been considered as a first-choice under Santiago Solari and in Zinedine Zidane’s second spell. In fact, Lucas started for more than 20 games in a row last season between October 2020 and January 2021, with around a quarter of those games coming as an RW. And in my opinion, he also looked like the best option available during last season.

Vazquez’s relentless work rate, creative abilities and ability to link up well with Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal obviously make him a great contender for the position of a right-winger. He’s a runner, and he’s highly suited to the modern game. He’s not a natural goalscorer, but the classic winger has a knack for scoring goals on the break, arriving into positions at the right time due to his pace. And the best part of the Spaniard’s game is his creative gameplay from the wide areas. Like Arjen Robben cutting in from the right and taking a shot, Lucas Vazquez beating the defenders with his stepovers and curling in an accurate cross or cutback from the right-wing is inevitable.

And one can say that Vazquez’s goal output as a winger is underrated. Between 2015 and 2018, he had produced at least 14 goal contributions every season, despite his limited playing time, and he produced as high as 8 goals and 16 assists in the 2017/18 season according to Transfermarkt, which is his career-best. In his overall Real Madrid career, he has contributed to a goal once every 147 minutes as a right-winger, which is a decent output for a winger. Vazquez didn’t play under Carlo Ancelotti in his first-stint as Real’s manager, but he could be one individual who can benefit highly from the Italian’s ultra-attacking system.

Vazquez could be a highly useful player, but there are certain limitations in his game like his decision making and technical limitations, which is the reason why he has faced some criticism throughout his career. He could be a starter for any other club, but he chose to stay here at his boyhood club, where he knows he might not be the first choice. His loyalty and discipline can make any manager love him, but I highly doubt if Don Carlo would see Lucas as a first-choice RW.

Lucas might be the second-choice RB irrespective of Odriozola’s presence, but with Ancelotti focusing more on goalscoring wingers, Lucas won’t be the first-choice RW. But he might be definitely used as a rotational option, or as a substitute who can work wonder against tired legs. Given his crossing abilities, his numbers could improve a lot if a goalscorer is used on the other wing, who can get into the box and latch onto the cross at the right time.

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