When it’s time to draw up tactics anti Real Madridnot everything revolves around methods to inhibit Bellingham, Vinicius and company. Avoid the “best defensive back in the world” (Carletto dixit) It is also a premise. It will be for Tuchel at the Bernabéu. When looking for bleeding on the white team, the daggers point to the right side. Ferland Mendy, irrefutable for Ancelotti, is also burying the debates for the rest. A season of rebirth. Without forcing yourself physically to arrive in the best conditions for the final battles. Of all the areas of the field in which the winger has faced at least one defensive duel, only in one does he not exceed 50% success. And we are talking about a strip where he lost the only one he faced. An anecdote that does not overshadow a state of form that instills fear in rivals. It is a fact.
Ferland prevails in 63.8% of defensive attempts out of a total of 141. Carvajal, so that the comparison gains weight, presents 56.7% in 254. The rival faces the Leganense every 11.8 minutes. To that of Meulan-en-Yvelines, every 17.5′. There is a curious fact. When he leaves position, full. On the only four occasions that the heat map shows the Frenchman away from the left lane, he short-circuited the opponent. Although it is in hostile land where he shows off his rocky football. In the corner of the rectangle, the area where the opposing winger most seeks to overwhelm, Mendy prevails 77.8% of the time. In total he is 18 out of 24 in duels close to the white goal. A 75% success rate that turns the Madrid area into the ‘Mendy zone’.
Of the surprise to the rebellion
Aware that Madrid has Alphonso Davies in its sights, Mendy has opted for rebellion. Instead of lowering his arms, he raised them higher. The season began with a fight with Fran García. A muscle injury seemed to be the trigger for the surprise of the newcomer. But after missing the first six games of the season, he didn’t look back. Ancelotti, as soon as his physique was in good shape, had no doubts. Ferland’s performance did the rest in one of his most stable campaigns since he landed in Madrid from Lyon. Not one more step through nursing. very titular, Since that turbulent start, he has only missed a handful of games (five and never more than two in a row) due to minor discomfort. Instead of forcing the machinery, I step back. The return, more than two forwards.
DANI SANCHEZDiarioAS
The contract expires in 2025 and the buzz is always present. There is the option of picking up Miguel Gutiérrez (Madrid has a buyback option of 8 million euros), Fran García arrived in the summer and is younger (24 years old, compared to Ferland’s 28). And in the background, Davies. Always Davies. But Mendy has limited himself to smiling and talking on the field. In attack it is not Carvajal, nor Fran, but Carletto He is clear about what he needs for the ‘three’ lane on thunderous nights. Duel by duel he has reconquered a position that for Ancelotti was always his. He has had so much success that not even his rivals want to face him…
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