Three questions and three answers from Leganés 0-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid secured a comfortable 3-0 win to seal a derby victory in the southern Madrid suburb of Leganés on Sunday night. The fun and games didn’t begin until just before half-time when Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock with a tap in, but Fede Valverde added a second from a free-kick early in the second half and Jude Bellingham wrapped it up at the death.

Three answers

1. Who would play in defence?

The big question mark over Real Madrid heading into this game was how Carlo Ancelotti would line up in defence. Injuries to Lucas Vázquez and Éder Militão meant changes would be enforced, and without Aurélien Tchouameni to fill in, there would be no first team alternative in central defence or on the right. On the right, the solution was Fede Valverde just as it was in the second half against Osasuna. The Uruguayan was excellent, winning all of his duels and keeping the right flank secure under lock and key. In the middle, Raúl Asencio kept his place just as he did against Osasuna. He won seven of his 10 duels and earned praise from Ancelotti, who described his display as “serious and mature”.

2. How much would Carlo Ancelotti’s mind be on Anfield?

Wednesday night’s game against Liverpool in the Champions League is of huge importance to ensure safe passage to the knock-out round of the competition. It would be natural for Carlo Ancelotti to have one eye on that game on Merseyside rather than a routine La Liga game which should be fairly easy to handle. However, the coach didn’t seem to hold back. His decision to leave Brahim Díaz and Luka Modrić on the bench surprised many, but he stuck with his strongest core of key players in most positions across the field. The other notable call was the one to start Fran García ahead of Ferland Mendy. Whether that is a choice of preference based on current form, or an indication to keep Mendy fresh for Mohamed Salah in 72 hours, remains to be seen.

3. Would Kylian Mbappé look more involved?

Ancelotti spoke on Saturday to explain that Mbappé knows how to score goals, and that’s exactly what he did at Butarque on Sunday. It wasn’t the most glamorous, but he managed it. Playing on the left wing, rather than in a central role, he looked more connected and lively, albeit still not dominating in the same way that Vinícius was as he drove the Leganés defence crazy. Mbappé was in the right place at the right time to score the opening goal, and he almost registered another late on as Marko Dmitrović denied him with a smart save to deny Mbappé’s right-footed attempt. This wasn’t Mbappé at his best, far from it, but it was a significant improvement upon previous months. This could be the future for this pairing.

Three questions

1. Why haven’t we seen more of Arda Güler and Dani Ceballos?

Arda Güler hadn’t started a game for two months before this one, while it was almost three in the case of Dani Ceballos. Neither has had much of a look in from the bench either, but Ancelotti made a radical change to bring both into the side in a formation that looked almost like a 4-2-3-1. Ceballos bossed the midfield, recording more passes than anyone else on the field with 88, and at a higher accuracy than anyone else with 95%. Güler also excited, creating two chances and having three shots himself in addition to claiming an assist by teeing up Fede Valverde to score from an indirect free-kick. Both made a statement and will certainly be claiming a more frequent presence in the side in the weeks ahead.

2. Is Fede Valverde Real Madrid’s new free-kick taker?

With no Toni Kroos, the role of Real Madrid’s designated free-kick taker was up for grabs, but it doesn’t seem to be anymore. With this strike, Fede Valverde scored his second indirect free-kick of the season, adding to a similar one against Valladolid on matchday two at the Bernabéu. The last man to do that was Juan Manuel Varga for Real Betis in 2015/16. The other man to take free-kicks this season has been Kylian Mbappé but with much less luck. Here, donning the captain’s armband, Valverde showed the importance that he has to this team. A leader in every sense, his increasing ability to win games single handed with moments like this only serves to further underline how valuable an asset Valverde is, wherever he may be playing on the field.

3. Has Jude Bellingham found his scoring boots again?

A third goal with four minutes to go may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but for Jude Bellingham it felt like a pivotal moment. The England international scored his long-awaited first goal of the season against Osasuna before the international break and is now two in two after adding to that against Leganés. This was a poacher’s finish, similar to many of those scored last season, and showed his role in the side playing in a central position but more advanced, behind Vinícius Júnior, which was also more akin to where he played in 2023/24. Having racked up three assists and a goal in 14 games for club and country between August and November, he’s now on a run of three assists and two goals in his last four games.