Real Madrid are currently riding a streak of eight consecutive wins in La Liga and the Champions League. Not since their 0-0 mid-week draw with Osasuna in late October have Los Blancos dropped points. They have begun a streak of difficult matches, and they have started off with gritty wins over Sevilla and Athletic Club, followed by a more convincing display at the Anoeta on Saturday night.
On Tuesday night, Real Madrid will face Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu. It will be their fourth meeting against the Nerazzurri in two seasons, but their first at their true home stadium. Earlier in this Champions League season, Los Blancos edged out Inter at the San Siro 1-0 behind a late winner from Rodrygo Goes.
While Real will be the favorites on Tuesday, Inter are also in a good position. The defending Serie A champions have won each of their last five matches, with a streak of three straight clean sheets. This past weekend, they defeated Roma 3-0 to move into second, just one point behind Milan. That was their draw before the five straight victories.
Real Madrid will have their work cut out for them. Here is a look at three players with a point to prove at the Bernabeu in the final 2021-2022 Champions League group stage matchup.
RB Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal is the main attacking threat of the players in Real’s back four, though Eder Militao’s outlet passes and David Alaba’s overall technical quality have been important to Los Blancos. The team asks Carvajal to do a lot, and they expect him to meet this level. Real Madrid is a much better side when Carvajal is at his best, and they often suffer serious letdown performances when the No. 2 falters.
Madridistas want to see the best version of Carvajal in these big matches. Yes, Real is already through to the knockout stages, but every match matters. Winning the group matters. And Carvajal will need to avoid making mistakes against an Inter side that loves exploiting wide areas of the pitch.
ST Luka Jovic
But nobody has a bigger point to prove on Matchday 6 of the 2021-2022 Champions League than Luka Jovic. The backup striker will most likely start on Tuesday night, because Karim Benzema suffered an injury early in Saturday’s win over Real Sociedad. Benzema is expected to be out vs. Inter and could also miss next weekend’s rivalry clash with Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
That Real Madrid still beat La Real on Saturday despite Benzema’s injury is a credit to Jovic, who was one of the three stars of the night. Jovic was involved in both goals. He assisted the first with some excellent hold-up/combination play with Vinicius Junior, and he scored the second opportunistically with a diving header.
Both goals showed exactly what the 23-year-old can bring to the table. The Madrid attack has been crying out for another striker option to spell Benzema this season, as fears of fatigue have been whispered about since the No. 9 returned to France national team duty. And now that Benz is injured, the opportunity has been thrust upon the previously forgotten Jovic.
Signed for 60 million euros by Zinedine Zidane, Jovic flashed in his first season at the Bernabeu but was discarded in 2020-2021 before an uneventful loan to his old club, Eintracht Frankfurt.
Now, the strong and clinical striker is ready to prove himself with his final shot before Real Madrid ostensibly pursue current Bundesliga standout Erling Haaland. Jovic’s night against Inter will be very important to his career, whether or not he remains in Madrid. Interestingly enough, Inter – along with rivals AC Milan – have shown significant interest in Jovic.
RW Rodrygo Goes
Rodrygo Goes had a quiet day against Real Sociedad on the stat sheet, but he still had a positive influence on the match due to his tireless defending, which was important against one of La Liga’s most electrifying attacking sides. And it paid off, given that La Real never scored.
However, Real Madrid did not sign Rodrygo for 50 million euros from Santos in 2019 to be a defensive winger. They want the 20-year-old to take on responsibility and become an important player in his own right. Already, Rodrygo is a solid rotation player, and that would be a good role for him when Kylian Mbappe presumably joins forces with Vinicius Junior in 2022-2023. Surely, though, Rodrygo aspires for more. And we know he is capable of so much more.
As we saw the first time Rodrygo faced Inter, the young winger lives for these kinds of games. The Champions League is his trademark competition. He was the standout attacker against Sheriff in Real’s latest Champions League matchup. The right winger scored earlier in the competition against Shakhtar Donetsk, too.
He probably won’t go off like he did in 2019-2020 against Galatasaray, but Madridistas will be hoping to see their other young winger have another big Champions League night. Inter will be an even tougher out the second time, with Simone Inzaghi likely having a tweaked gameplan to one that was nearly successful the first time around.
Like Real, Inter is one of those sides that gets stronger as the season continues. Real Madrid will need Rodrygo at his strongest to get the win. And for him personally, every match in the spotlight is important for him. Not just in locking down the right wing spot over Marco Asensio (and others), but also in remaining on the path to stardom. He has it in him, even if most of the rest of the world remains unaware.