RW Marco Asensio
Rodrygo Goes is the better fit on the right wing because of his energy, pressing, dribbling, and creation, but Marco Asensio will still get minutes – and starts – despite his woeful displays against PSG. Asensio has some use. But his use becomes even more limited and his weaknesses become even more magnified when the right backs struggle. Between Asensio and Rodrygo, it is the Andalusian who is impacted the most severely by Dani Carvajal’s struggles.
Look no further than both legs against PSG. Yes, both players were poor individually, especially Asensio, but their struggles were compounded by the fact that they were both on the same flank. Real Madrid were too slow defensively, non-existent in transition, and completely torn to shreds by Kylian Mbappe and Nuno Mendes down that side.
Asensio is never going to be a defensive winger. His net impact defensively is a massive negative, because he is just not fast, strong, or energetic enough. Asensio is not a player who works for the team like Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr.
So when you put Carvajal behind him, that is a recipe for disaster. Carvajal is at a stage of his career where he needs help from his winger.
Worse yet, Carvajal has to do SO much in terms of ball carrying, overlapping, and overall creation because Asensio needs to tuck in. Asensio is not a player who has energy on the ball either. He is one of the worst creators and ball-carriers on the wing in ALL of European football. His goals from distance just cover for this massive weakness.
So you can imagine that Carvajal now has even more pressure. And then that hurts Asensio, because, realistically, Carvajal cannot do everything at once. Asensio can only succeed in a right wing role if Real have a player like Carvajal in his prime – someone who can get up and down the flank with ease. Carvajal, due to injuries and age, just cannot do this anymore. Maybe Lucas Vazquez can, but he is just not effective enough in his final ball and in his defensive positioning.