Varane goes back to his old ways

2020 is being a year to forget about Raphael Varane. Or, to be more exact, the months that have passed since the return of the Champions League in August. In the round of eighth of the last Champios against City, without Ramos, the Frenchman was expected to step forward. The opposite happened: he gave away two goals that certified the elimination.

Since then, he has not raised his head. The current Champions started it just as badly as the previous one ended: without Ramos at his side (accompanied by Militao) and with an own goal in the first round loss against Shakhtar at Di Stéfano (2-3).

The return match against the Ukrainians in Kiev, again without Ramos, was a golden opportunity for the Frenchman to redirect the course in the Champions League by certifying the team's pass. However, a serious mistake by him and Mendy led to Shakhtar's first goal. Madrid, who had been superior in the first half, collapsed in the second from that point on. The ghosts of Varane appeared again and also those of the entire team.

There is a data that Opta threw after the game that is very significant: Varane is the player who has conceded the most goals due to his mistakes in 2020 in the Champions League (three). To those (the two from City and Shakhtar) we should also add the own goal from the first day.

It is also necessary to highlight the good match that the Frenchman made with Nacho against Inter at San Siro. They left a clean sheet and dried two forwards on the level of Lukaku and Lautaro. That is precisely why the performance in Kiev was a jug of cold water. The central pair repeated, although the performance was very different.

In the League, this season, things have not gone much better for Varane. In one of the most painful defeats, that 4-1 at Mestalla, he scored an own goal, the second in his personal account this season, and left another gray match.

Zidane keeps his trust intact in Varane, also because his possible replacements (Nacho and Militao) are not demanding the starting position with their performance. At the club they have no doubts about the Frenchman either, because there are many high-level seasons. But the feeling is spreading more and more that without Ramos, Varane is much less. And that, now that the captain is 35 years old, is a cause for concern …