Real Madrid face Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday, with a lot on the line with regard to the context of the match. It is only the second game-week of the Champions League campaign, so in that sense, it may not mean as much as some of the latter games in the competition.
Even then, Real Madrid need to win as many games at the start of their Champions League campaign to be able to be comfortably through to the knockout stages of the competition.
They are now facing Roma – a brilliant team in their own right, who are at the summit of Serie A after a brilliant start to the new campaign under Gian Piero Gasperini. Donyell Malen and Paulo Dybala are in incredible form, making this Roma side incredibly fun to watch as well as really difficult to beat.
Here are the three players Jose Mourinho must start in the game to ensure that his team is up for the challenge – besides the obvious.
3 non-negotiable starters for Real Madrid in their Champions League clash vs Roma
Ibrahima Konate
Konate has been a good presence at the heart of defense for this Real Madrid side ever since his free move to the club in June. He has looked really good alongside whichever central defender Mourinho puts alongside him, and it just goes to show that the club has signed a great player for the present and near-future.
Konate is a strong, tall and quick central defender whose fundamentals of defending are absolutely top-notch. That is exactly why Real Madrid must start him alongside Dean Huijsen (or Antonio Rudiger, if he is there instead). His pace will help Real Madrid work against Malen more effectively, and he uses his physicality so well against shorter players that it could prove to be really beneficial for Real Madrid against an attack that is so quick and agile. He has to start.
Bernardo Silva
A brilliant player on his day, Silva simply has to start. Real Madrid are desperate for a player of his profile in the midfield, and the sooner it happens, the more control Real Madrid will have in a game as open as the one against Roma could be.
Roma’s attacks could be managed by the other midfielder well enough, but it needs a lot of control and off-the-ball movement which no one does well enough.
Mourinho has some sort of agenda against the player, which is why it is tough to see Silva starting, but if the Portuguese manager wants to win at his old home, he must start Silva at any cost.
Eduardo Camavinga
It is a surprising claim, but Camavinga should start against Roma at any cost. He is, on his day, the best ball-winner Real Madrid have in their mdifield, and even though we have not seen his best in a long time, Camavinga is actively improving as a football player, and is slowly getting back to his best.
His pace, physicality and ball-winning nature could help Real Madrid a lot in being able to manage the home team’s attacks. He is a quicker option than Tchouameni, which is why he should start.
As for Fede Valverde, he should still start for Real Madrid, but that should only happen on the flank, because the team would need the extra midfield and width support that Valverde can provide from the flank. Even if it means having to bench Vinicius Junior or Yan Diomande, this should happen. Whether this will be the lineup or not is another topic altogether.
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