3 observations from Real Madrid’s 4-1 win vs Levante

Real Madrid swept aside Levante 4-1 to win their sixth La Liga game in a row, and seven in all competitions this season. A brilliant Vinicius Jr goal opened the scoring, before the Brazilian turned provider for Franco Mastantuono’s second. Kylian Mbappe then scored a quickfire brace to see out the win to keep Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga.

Here are three observations from the win:

Raul Asencio, past the horrors of the Club World Cup

Everyone was quick to judge Raul Asencio when he first became a senior team player and was playing well. They were also very quick to judge him when he had the first real slump of his career at the Club World Cup in June.

Those things were true. He was great last season, but he also had a terrible Club World Cup. But that should not make or break his name. People saw him perform admirably for a few months, only to shift the entire narrative when he made a few mistakes at the Club World Cup.

Asencio played well against Levante. He played as a right-back (of sorts) in a hybrid formation on Tuesday night, and he looked good. It should not be so black and white. Either he is good, or he is bad. Every player has had bad slumps, and Asencio is no different. Hopefully, though, this is a return to form for the Spaniard.

Asencio looked impressive building from the back for Real Madrid. There was a new set of responsibilities on his shoulders, having only played as a right-back (of sorts) for a few minutes. I had my doubts going into the game, but this role actually helped him gain a lot of confidence because of the added responsibilities.

The system looked fluid. It was constantly interchanging from a four-back into a three-back, so there was a decent amount of pressure on Asencio, but he obliged.

He did not rush into a lot of challenges. Rather, he waited for the right moment to pounce, and kept his position well enough not to get into any trouble. He also completed all of his passes — 53 of them, to be precise.

If Asencio is able to keep his level high when he does play, he would help Real Madrid’s defensive solidity massively.

Alvaro Carreras, makeshift centre-back

Xabi Alonso, in a press conference a few games ago, touched on how he likes Carreras’ versatility, being able to play in central defense almost just as well as playing as a full-back. People looked at it and thought, “Well, that’d be good if there was a crisis in defense again.” Turns out, it only took Alonso seven games to try that out.

He played alongside Dean Huijsen, and was once again fantastic. Carreras looked like a natural in that position, and even if there were a few hiccups, he was able to mop them up quite quickly. He also had the most touches and passes out of anyone on the pitch, which showed how comfortable he was playing as a central defender.

This gives Alonso so many options. The idea for him to start Fran Garcia and Carreras together can become a thing against teams where there is more pace and urgency required from defense.

It is good to see that Real Madrid have such reliable and versatile options in defense. Even with Antonio Rudiger out, Real Madrid have five defenders who can play as centre-backs whenever required. It adds a new level of interchangeability to this Real Madrid side, who lacked exactly that going into last season.

Dani Ceballos, a reliable passer

I think it was a bit of an extreme to put that many responsibilities on Dani Ceballos’ shoulders last season. At one point, he was playing every single game — and, to be fair, performing well in them — but his history of inconsistencies should have given Carlo Ancelotti a warning sign. He was being asked of too much at one point, and after that point, he started struggling.

This, however, could be a great role for him. One of the first players off the bench, who has to defend well and control the tempo of the game. He would also, at many points, have Arda Guler next to him to help him with it, and it seems like a good balance at the moment.

Ceballos had 107 touches against Levante, the second most on the pitch after Carreras. He had 90 passes with a completion rate of a mammoth 98.9%. The unnoticed drops of his shoulder, and the twists and turns, helped Real Madrid with ball retention. He also had two key passes, five tackles, two interceptions and a block. It was good to see. Really good.

It now depends on Alonso to see how he wants to use him, but for me, Ceballos has a solid role off the bench, and if he is able to keep up the performances without seeing an uptick in responsibilities, he would be really important for Los Blancos going forward.