Mendy, the free verse

It is the free verse of the Real Madrid attack. Ferland Mendy, signed last season as a new reinforcement for the left back and as a future replacement for Marcelo, he has become the offensive and defensive asset of the Whites. The Frenchman begins to remember Roberto Carlos and Marcelo, two players who have left their mark on the left wing of the Whites: from 1996, the date of the arrival of the first, until the winter of 2006-07, when Marcelo arrived, the left wing has not known another side. All three share similar characteristics: the main one, they are long-distance wingers, with their sights set more on the rival goal than on defending their own.

This is determined by the numbers in the three league games he has played so far. Against Real he was colder than normal: he lost 19 balls for only two recoveries, according to Opta data. However, it was the game in which he made the most passes in the rival field: 31 (he gave 45 successful passes out of 54 attempted, 83.3% effective), and was even the subject of a penalty that was not indicated. But his step forward was against Betis, in a difficult exit: he hit 43 of 45 passes he tried (95.6% effectiveness), with 24 being in the rival field. He was more successful when defending (seven recoveries for eight losses, balanced) and won the four games he had (100% effective). Their numbers improved notably against Levante: only one pass failed (50 of 51, 98% effective), of which 30 were on the opposite ground, and he recovered more balls than he lost (seven times six).

The offensive voracity of the French full-back is such that in certain moments of the three games in which he has participated, the Madrid defense was made up of a line of three players while Casemiro embedded himself in the space left by Varane and Ramos, who is the player who moves to that demarcation. Their presence, breaking in from behind, surprises the rivals, fixed on attacking players like Benzema, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Asensio … plus the arrivals of footballers from the second row, like Modric, Kroos or Valverde. However, he must improve his shot on goal. To date, he only adds one goal scored with the white shirt: He was about to score against Betis, but his shot went wide. Little by little, and after loosening the strap of the self-consciousness of his first games, Mendy is a free verse. And in attack, more.