Problem case Lucas Vázquez: Real must act now

Mostly reliable as a backup, brilliant last season

In recent years, the maxim has regularly applied at Real Madrid – up Lucas Vazquez you can rely on it! In the past, when Daniel Carvajal had to sit out due to injury or was rested, Vázquez usually represented him solidly and reliably, only to then sit back on the bench without complaining. Last season in particular, the 33-year-old was a big factor in crucial phases at the back and in front and made an important contribution to winning the Spanish championship and the Champions League. In addition to a mostly rock-solid defensive performance – the 18 minutes per ball recovery was the top value in the team – the Galician also had a few, but all the more important, shining moments up front in 2023/24. At Alavés, for example, he scored in stoppage time for an important 1-0 win when they were outnumbered and in the last and decisive Clásico he was directly involved in all three goals. The former Canterano was also extremely important as a leader and motivator, or as a sure shooter in the penalty shootout in Manchester in the quarter-finals of the premier class. Vázquez also earned a REAL TOTAL season grade of 2.

Things haven’t been working since Carvajal’s failure

Until Dani Carvajal’s serious injury on October 5th, it seemed to be another typical Vázquez season – when one of the Real captains played, it was usually solid and calm, as almost always in previous years. Since then, trained wingers have increasingly become a real problem, primarily in defense. In the Clásico debacle (0:4) and the subsequent CL home defeat against Milan (1:3), the veteran on the right side of defense saw no land and seemed completely overwhelmed, allowing himself to be paraded numerous times by nimble offensive people like Milan’s Rafael Leão. In general, Vázquez has a clear lack of speed compared to most opposing wingers this season, is often thrown off balance and thus lacks coordination with his defensive teammates. Even in the last league defeat in Bilbao (1:2) he did next to nothing defensively, and even in a good team performance in the CL duel in Bergamo, he stood out negatively when he danced out of Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman’s second goal and then again and again and got into trouble. After all, the former Canterano was one of the major uncertainties in Real’s defense on Saturday evening in Vallecas and was involved in the first two goals conceded. With Vázquez on the pitch, the Whites concede 1.48 goals per 90 minutes – the worst figure in the entire team. In addition, with 0.3 intercepted balls, 0.6 clearances and o.1 blocked shots per game in all these categories, he has the worst values ​​of all Los Blancos defenders. In contrast to the previous year, “Cafucas” hardly manages anything offensively, and the two goals so far cannot hide that, especially since they only have a single assist – in 2023/24 there were a total of eight in the end. In most cases it is due to bad passes or coordination problems with his teammates, which subsequently results in many ball losses.

Ancelotti already has two alternatives

At least the loss of points in Vallecas is also a home-made problem with regard to the position of the right defender, because with Federico Valverde, Carlo Ancelotti has a player in the squad who is clearly superior to Vázquez in terms of both speed and heading ability, especially since the Uruguayan has already had successful appearances on the team had position. During the guest appearance in Bilbao, it was expected that Valverde would play on the right side of defense, but the Italian coach decided on the 33-year-old Spaniard and, as is well known, gambled away. In Bergamo, Vázquez’s line-up was also almost eye-catching, and in the little derby against Rayo it clearly is. Even Raúl Asencio, who has impressed as a central defender in his four league starting appearances so far, would be worth a try at right-back. At least defensively, the young star has everything that Lucas Vázquez currently lacks: header strength, good positional play and calmness on the ball. In any case, it is becoming increasingly clear that the regular Carvajal replacement was identified by most opponents as the biggest weak point in the royal defense, and as such is attacked regularly and systematically. What makes matters worse is that, for tactical reasons, Vázquez stands very high in his own attacks and uses up a lot of energy that he then lacks at the back.

Winter transfer not categorically excluded

A possible solution to the problem could also be to sign a new right-back in January. The fact that the Spanish record champions have this in mind and are at least not completely ruling out a possible winter transfer was evident at the final press conference before the Leganés game: “We’ll see. We’ll start talking about it after the last game of the year, then we’ll plan what we’ll do in the winter transfer market,” said Carlo Ancelotti on November 23rd. In recent years, the Italian has always explicitly and regularly emphasized that the club is not planning any new winter signings. It remains to be seen whether Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose contract with Liverpool FC expires in June 2025 and who is repeatedly linked to the Royals in the media, is a realistic alternative. In any case, it would be negligent not to at least examine and explore all available and feasible options, as the first half of the season has clearly shown.

Vázquez, who has been part of the first team since the 2015/16 season and won five Champions League titles with Real, among other things, has truly earned every year of his contract and every contract extension. For years he was the perfect short-term backup for Carvajal, but this time the Spanish European champions have been out for too long and it is evident that Lucas cannot permanently close the gap. Even against smaller opponents like Rayo Vallecano, he has shown too many deficiencies and lack of defensive synergies. How is it supposed to work in the spring when everything will be at stake in the decisive phase of the season against the strongest teams in Spain and Europe? These would attack the Merengues’ obvious weakness even more intensively and put them under pressure than Rayo did on Saturday evening.