Real Madrid have had a great start to the season. Three wins out of three, all of them relatively convincingly, it seems like Xabi Alonso’s era has started as well as anyone could have hoped for.
Of course, that is not to say that things can't be improved, and that there aren't any weaknesses on the team, but it is good to have some sort of positivity in the squad and among the fanbase.
The new signings that Real Madrid have made have all impressed so far. Dean Huijsen seems to be one of the best centre backs in the world already. Trent Alexander-Arnold has performed well, even though he is taking some time to get used to his team and the surroundings.
Franco Mastantuono has started two games as an 18-year-old since joining the club, which is worth mentioning because it's not normal. Not for Real Madrid. He has impressed, too.
But one player who has impressed more than anyone else this season is Alvaro Carreras. Everyone knew he was a talented full-back, which is why Real Madrid ended up signing him in the first place, but no one quite knew just how good the bloke is.
Alvaro Carreras leads La Liga in one key stat
He is so good, that he'd basically put Pedri in the dust in a key stat for not just full-backs, but midfielders too.
According to Squawka, Alvaro Carreras has completed the most passes into the final third in the whole of La Liga this season, with 114.
Federico Valverde and Arda Guler are joint 2nd with 102, 12 behind their new teammate. Pedri? He's also on 102.
Everyone knew Carreras was performing really, really well already, and they all saw his emphatic goal-line clearance that has taken over the internet over the course of the week after the match, but that's not all.
He's actually been involved on both ends of the pitch. He's defending well on one end, while going high up the pitch, overlapping and combining with Vinicius Jr on the other end.
Carreras has been such an important asset to have on the left as he brings the best of both worlds, and you can see how, with the way he left Pedri in the dust at his own game.
Of course, that's not all that Pedri does, but it's also not everything Carreras does. Also, if you come up with the argument that Pedri doing it means more because he's doing it from midfield, which is different from doing it from the flank, well, two of Real Madrid's midfielders are on the same number as the Spanish midfielder, so that argument becomes null and void too.
Besides, Carreras has genuinely been a masterclass of a signing, and it won't be long before he joins Pedri in the international team. We'd say he should be doing so even now, but everything takes time.