The Real Champs
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Real Madrid: 5 takeaways from a brilliant comeback win over Valencia

By Hridyam Arora

VALENCIA, SPAIN - 2021/09/19: Vinicius Jose Paixao De Oliveira Junior of Real Madrid seen in action during the Spanish La Liga, football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid at Mestalla stadium in Valencia.(Final score; Valencia CF 1:2 Real Madrid). (Photo by Xisco Navarro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - 2021/09/19: Vinicius Jose Paixao De Oliveira Junior of Real Madrid seen in action during the Spanish La Liga, football match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid at Mestalla stadium in Valencia.(Final score; Valencia CF 1:2 Real Madrid). (Photo by Xisco Navarro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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VALENCIA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 19: Lucas Vazquez of Real Madrid reacts during the La Liga Santander match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Mestalla on September 19, 2021 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 19: Lucas Vazquez of Real Madrid reacts during the La Liga Santander match between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Mestalla on September 19, 2021 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /

Lucas Vazquez proves yet again that he is not a defender

Makeshift basically means “acting as an interim and temporary measure”. Temporary, interim, being the keywords. It implies it may or may not be good for the long term, usually the latter. Real Madrid were in a dire need of someone taking up the right-back spot last season. Dani Carvajal was injured, Odriozola was not preferred by Zinedine Zidane, and Nacho was playing as a centre-back because there were only two senior CBs available.

Zidane chose to start Vazquez during that time. And he actually did really well, I won’t lie. Vazquez performed well when the team needed him, but there were many instances even then that showed that he’s not that good of a defender to take up that much responsibility on a regular basis.

Real Madrid didn’t seem to think so, and they offered him a contract extension. They also loaned out Odriozola and didn’t sign a backup yet again. Relying on a winger to cover for an injury-prone defender is not something that should be done, and yet, it is.

Lucas Vazquez replaced Dani Carvajal early on in the game. He did not have a good time dealing with Valencia’s high intensity. He was responsible for the goal that Valencia scored, and he took some long-range shots which had no chance of ending up in the back of the net.

He had one of his worst performances in a Real Madrid shirt, and the club should’ve anticipated that given he’s not a true right-back. There were funds available, and they should’ve been spent on a back-up option. It’s weird to see why they weren’t.

Vazquez is probably going to start more games than not from now on, depending on the severity of Carvajal’s injury. I hope he somehow improves and plays like he did last season, but I don’t know about this one.

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