Real Madrid have an open competition at the left back position these days, but with Ferland Mendy injured yet again after flashing his quality in his return to the lineup briefly in the Champions League knockouts vs. Manchester City, the competition hasn't felt truly engaged.
Fran Garcia also played well in recent weeks, including against Manchester City, so the two are pushing incumbent starter Alvaro Carreras, who was signed for big money - similar to Mendy from Lyon in 2019 - in the summer as an attacking upgrade on Fran and Mendy.
But defensively, Alvaro has been shaky. He struggled against Vedat Muriqi and Mallorca over the weekend, and he was even worse on Tuesday night against one of the world's finest right wingers in Michael Olise. The Frenchman tore Alvaro to shreds, with Madridisas shaking their heads in disgust at his inability to keep up with Olise.
Ferland Mendy is ready to play
Even though Olise is one of the best, Real Madrid should be having one of the best to mark him and other top wingers. Alvaro has his qualities, but Real Madrid really missed the injured Ferland Mendy during the first leg against Bayern Munich, given all the great right wingers that Mendy has locked up in the Champions League knockout stages over the years.
According to a new report from COPE, via Madrid Xtra, Mendy will be available at the Allianz Arena next week against Bayern Munich for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals with the deficit at 2-1 after the first leg loss without Mendy available at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid will hope that the returns of Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao, and Mendy to the starting lineup will be enough to turn the tide, especially as it comes to solidifying the team defensively. Militao is the best center back at Real, Mendy is the best defensive left back, and Bellingham is the best at winning possession on the entire team. It's really not even close in any of these three cases.
Mendy could be the X-Factor, though. His work on the ball has always been criticized, and he has fallen by the way side in recent years. But the thing is, Real Madrid have always been at their best defensively, including in the Champions League, with Mendy around. He was key to both of the Champions League wins, and it will be a huge boost for Real to have him out there vs. Olise.