Real Madrid's performance against Deportivo Alaves at the Mendizorroza on Sunday is all a matter of perspective. On the one hand, you could praise Real Madrid for showing great heart and character for getting all three points to stay alive in the title race despite losing their most talented player to a red card in the first half.
But on the other hand, Real Madrid failed to dominate one of the worst teams in LaLiga and showed serious flaws, in the aftermath of a 3-0 blowout loss to Arsenal in the Champions League that exposed them as an overrated, entitled team that shows half the quality they should have on paper and doesn't work hard enough defensively to control opponents.
There is no question that the worst player for Real Madrid on Sunday was Kylian Mbappe. Even before the red card - which I will get to in a bit - he was terrible. Mbappe is starting to look like the player Luis Enrique accused him of being last season at PSG: lazy, ill-disciplined, and unwilling to play for te team.
Kylian Mbappe didn't want to be there
Even before the red card, you got the sense that Mbappe didn't want to be there on the pitch. Real Madrid fans have booed him this season not for his missed chances or lack of quality but for sheer lack of effort. He was busy fouling Alaves players off the ball, walking back on defense, not pressing with his teammates, and looking to shoot or perform useless flicks instead of getting teammates involved.
And then the red card. With the LaLiga title on the line and the Copa del Rey Final coming up, Mbappe jumped up and stabbed a high, cleat-up boot in the mid-leg of former Real Madrid midfielder Antonio Blanco, scything down the player for no reason other than malicious attempt. It was the kind of petulant, vindictive tackle from an immature player looking for either revenge or evidently an excuse to sit on the sidelines, rather than help his team win. As much as Real Madrid try to pressure LaLiga to protect its players, their biggest superstar made the most heinous tackle in European football this season with the clear intent to harm.
Conversely, as horrendous and selfish as Mbappe was in this game, Real Madrid did not succumb to the red card and did not let this game get out of hand. They won it, and they quite obviously would not have won the game without the work of Eduardo Camavinga, who has faced a lot of pressure this season due to inconsistency and stagnating development.
When he's on, Camavinga is one of the best midfielders in Europe. When he's off, he's a massive liability who leaves acres of space defensively and fails to impact the attacking game, especially from a creative perspective.
We saw the best of Eduardo Camavinga
Well, Real Madrid got the best out of Camavinga on Sunday when they needed it most. His cool, curled finish into the far corner was both opportunistic and world-class - the kind of defining moment of individual quality from midfield to win a game that legendary teammate Luka Modric would have been proud of.
Aside from the goal, Camavinga's all-around game was exceptional. He completed six dribbles, drew three fouls, and created two chances for Real Madrid to offer far more attacking quality than he has in most of his games this season. And defensively, Camavinga had three tackles, three interceptions, three clearances, and a blocked shot as the most involved player on the pitch for Real Madrid.
It was a quintessential No. 8 display from the young Frenchman and a microcosm of what Real Madrid want to see from the uber-talented Camavinga on a weekly basis. He needs to harness this performance and carry the heart he showed in a dire game against Alaves with the title on the line and use that to be this kind of midfielder for Real Madrid week in and week out.