Real Madrid had a lot to be enthusiastic about their 3-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday, who booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League. Kylian Mbappe scored his first hat trick in the Santiago Bernabeu, while Aurelien Tchouamameni had a striking version on his return to midfield. One of those who went under the radar concerned Ferland Mendy, who looked back to his best at left back.
It is not an understatement to say that Mendy has had a very difficult season so far. The 29-year-old has generally performed at a low level and as a result he was on regular occasions of the team.
Mendy is not familiar in La Liga by head coach Carlo Ancelotti, given that he played for zero minutes in the last five league matches of Real Madrid. Fran Garcia was preferred, although he also had trouble reaching his own best level when he was called.
However, the performance that Mendy produced against Man City, in which he deducted the threat of countless dangerous players, including Savinho and Phil Foden, has changed a lot in Ancelotti's head. According to Marca, he now has “no doubts” that the Frenchman will be the man on which he trusts left-back for big competitions, which means that Garcia and Eduardo Camavinga, who were used in the past position, will not be called on that there are no injury or suspension problems.
In the past 12 months there has been a lot of transfer speculation around the left back position in Real Madrid. Club bosses had hoped to sign Alphonso Davies this summer, but that is no longer possible after he had signed a new contract with Bayern Munich. That was good news for Mendy, who will hope that he can settle himself as the regular starter for at least one season.
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