Real Madrid right-back Denzel Dumfries started the first two competitive games of the season over Trent Alexander-Arnold, and it has led to a lot of questions from Real Madrid fans.
And the questions themselves were very valid. Trent is one of the most creative right-backs football has ever seen, and even though Dumfries is a really good option to have on that side, too, Trent just provides a lot more with the ball at his feet.
However, Dumfries is the more physically dominant presence, and in games where they do not have as much defensive cover for Trent, Dumfries would be the option to start.
In both games, Dumfries played on the right side as a sole operator, with Arda Güler, at least on paper, playing on that right wing spot.
Güler used to drift inwards all the time to create for his teammates, which is why there was so much space for Dumfries to run into. Jude Bellingham picked him out with a long ball more often than not, and it was working like clockwork.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is too good to not start for Real Madrid
Although Trent has done that before, Mourinho probably feels that his talent is best used when he is the one creating for his opponents with the ball, rather than the other way around. It is also worth noting here was that Dumfries did not have the defensive coverage that a typical winger would provide. Güler was drifting inwards so many times, which left Dumfries with a lot to track all by himself.
He is physically better than Trent, and is a better defender, which is why the Dutch full-back took that position.
In games where there is a full-fledged right-winger, who stays on the right to provide width and defensive cover, Trent would definitely be used as he can pick out the winger’s runs with his brilliant passes.
That is what happened later in the Espanyol game, too. As soon as Yan Diomande came on to play on the right wing, so did Trent, and the move worked really well. Diomande’s speed and defensive work rate is going to help Trent a lot in these moments, and the same cannot be said about Guler when he is playing instead.
Mourinho has probably found a formula to keep both of his full-backs happy, as well as see which situations require what kind of a right-back. Guler will not be playing over a 120 million euro signing in every single game, and he certainly wouldn’t play on the right all the time, which should mean, according to this theory, that Trent would play more than Dumfries.
Maybe this theory is wrong, but it's not a bad one.
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