Real Madrid fans are getting increasingly concerned about the team’s right back situation. Dani Carvajal was poor against Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League – that is one problem. But his performance against Barcelona in LaLiga has convinced many Madridistas that the former best right back in the world is now finished as a top-level starter.
His only backup, Lucas Vazquez, isn’t a right back, though, at times, he is serviceable, even without Zinedine Zidane to come up with a gameplan that protects him.
The right back situation is having a ripple effect on the rest of the squad. Here are three players who are suffering the most as a result of the inconsistent play at this position.
CB Eder Militao
Let’s begin with the man who plays directly next to Dani Carvajal. I have never seen Eder Militao more frustrated than when Real Madrid faced Barcelona in that embarrassing Clasico. Militao was all over the place – and this time, not in a good way.
He looked flustered and upset, having to cover so much for different runs over the top and with Carvajal badly exposed next to him. Carvajal was less than useless. He would lose track of players, pass them off to Militao at the last second, and could not keep up with even Ferran Torres’ speed. Militao was forced to do a million things at once, which then had a negative impact on his usually sublime center back partner, David Alaba.
Seriously, Real Madrid are putting way too much on Militao’s plate if they expect him to cover for these messes at right back in 2022/23 as well. He is a great center back already, but not even he can make up for the defensive deficiencies at right back game after game.
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.
LW Vinicius Jr.
I could have went with Rodrygo or even David Alaba. Thibaut Courtois has definitely been impacted by the defensive problems on the right side of the formation, too.
But to me, Vinicius Jr. suffers even more than these players, even though he is on the opposite side of the field.
Why is that? Because with Carvajal declining, defenses do not have to respect the right side of the formation as much.
Think about it. Marco Asensio is no threat at all to any top team. They can easily cope with the only positive he provides, which is distance shooting. Rodrygo is more active, but he isn’t really all that more effective or consistent. Simply put, Rodrygo is not a right winger. He is not comfortable coming onto his left, and there is no point in wasting him as. winger who hugs the touchline. No top team should be playing like this.
So with Carvajal struggling to stay afloat and the right wingers effectively suffocated, the defense can now turn to doubling and tripling up on Vinicius Jr., giving him no space to get into the box and making his life miserable. They hack away at Vini’s legs, flustering the young winger and swarming him, forcing him to expend energy as he tries to weave through player after player and make the impossible pass or shot, having already expended energy on carrying the ball up the pitch in the first place!
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And people wonder why Vini’s form has waned a bit at times in the second half of the season. He is forced to do double the work with half the support. The situation is further compounded whenever Karim Benzema is injured.
So if Vini is hurt by the right back situation, you’d imagine Kylian Mbappe would want this sorted out, too, before he arrives in Madrid this summer.