Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez is once again on the outside looking in at the starting XI, despite the poor form of those around him.
The 33-year-old came close to leaving the club last summer, after warming the bench for much the opening half of the season. After increased protagonism in the spring, Nacho elected to stay and take on the captain’s armband from Karim Benzema.
The situation is not as bad this season, with Nacho appearing nine times in their opening 14 games. Of those nine games, Nacho has started five, but has also missed out on two through suspension after his red card against Girona.
“I thought I deserved to play more,” quote Relevo from Nacho’s discourse last season, and make the point that with Eder Militao injured, and David Alaba consistently giving up big goals, Nacho continues to be left out of big games by Ancelotti.
The Italian coach risks driving Nacho towards a similar situation as last season, although now with a lighter fixture list, he may see more involvement. At any rate, Ancelotti has almost always trusted his star names to come up with the goods in big games.
