Is €100m Real Madrid star really underperforming this season? – Analysis | OneFootball

Real Madrid have started the 2024-25 season in quite a poor fashion and the Merengues are already facing the challenge of keeping apace with the high-flying FC Barcelona in La Liga, they will also have to work very hard to qualify for the next stage of the UEFA Champions League after their defeats to Lille and AC Milan.

Most of the Los Blancos stars have not performed up to their expected standards, with Kylian Mbappe taking a lot of blame for his poor start to life at Real Madrid. Jude Bellingham has also struggled, while Vinicius Junior has once again run hot and cold.

The team’s defence has also been far from satisfactory, and the team is definitely missing Dani Carvajal, who is out for the rest of the season with a serious injury. But for the team’s defensive vulnerabilities, one of the players who has faced the most criticism is the French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

Currently sidelined with a sprained ankle, the midfielder has been criticised for his lack of effort at some times and for his uncharacteristic mistakes while defending at other times.

Last season, he played an integral part as Real Madrid won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, and a comparison of his performances this season with his performances of the last season will provide a good idea of whether he is actually underperforming this season, or is he suffering, like the rest of the team, from some structural issue.

In the 2023-24 season, the Frenchman played 27 games in La Liga, starting 22 of them, and accumulating a total of 1992 minutes in the league.

He scored 3 goals in these 27 games and gave 1 assist, but it was his performance in the middle of the pitch that helped the team the most, as he made 1 interception, 1.4 tackles, 3.7 ball recoveries, and 1.9 clearances. He also won 4.3 duels and committed 0.7 fouls in every game.

Similarly, he also had 0.4 key passes in every game, 1.9 accurate long balls, and a 92% passing success rate on average. His overall Sofascore rating for the 2023-24 league season was 7.18.

This season in La Liga, he has played 10 games, starting all of them, and has not scored or assisted any goal yet. However, his passing success rate of 93% is even better than that of last season, and he is also providing 2.5 accurate long balls every game, which is higher than his rate for the last season. He has given 0.3 key passes this season, which is slightly below his number for the last season.

But despite the criticism he is facing, his defensive numbers are still superior to his last season. He is making 2.3 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, making 4.4 ball recoveries, and 1.2 clearances every game. He has also won 4.9 duels and committed 0.8 fouls every game. These numbers are clearly better than his average for the last season, and thus he also has a better overall rating of 7.23.

In the UCL, he played 8 matches last season, starting 7 of them, and playing a total of 605 minutes. He did not score or assist any goals, but once again stood out with his 93% passing success, and an 89% passing success rate in the opposition half. On the defensive end, he made 1.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 2.6 ball recoveries, and 1.5 clearances.

In his 4 appearances this season, 3 of them from the very start, he has also not scored any goals or given any assists. But as was the case last season, his passing success rate still stands at 93%, but only 86% passing success rate in the opposition half. In defence, he has made 0.8 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, 2.5 ball recoveries, and 0.5 clearances in every game.

Thus, instead of declining, these numbers show that his performances have actually improved this season. He might be suffering from the absence of a leader like Toni Kroos or other structural changes in the team might have been making him look worse than he actually is.

Whatever the problem, Carlo Ancelotti will have to make the necessary changes to ensure such an important player can once again start shining for Real Madrid when he returns from his injury.