Until ten days ago, Dani Ceballos was forgotten on the bench of Real Madrid with a huge desire to end the agony and leave the Bernabéu after six years, mostly not playing for the current Spanish and European champion.
He did not play a single game in the current competitive campaign from the first to the last minute, but in the last week, he became a main player in the team and a footballer who could save Real’s season. He shone against Villarreal in the Copa del Rey when he came on in the 56th minute to score an assist and a goal in a 0-2 to 3-2 turnaround, and it was a similar scenario last night against Atlético.
Mendy was injured before the end of the first half, when Atlético was leading 1-0 before Real equalized at the end, and then won 3-1. Ceballos was again one of the main protagonists, although he directly participated only in scoring the third goal, in the last minute.
Thus, Real are still in contention for even a treble this season despite twice being on the brink of relegation from the Copa del Rey. The team’s performance is far from last season’s, but Ancelotti has found the wild card that could save the season after the agony and depression that Real found themselves in after the World Cup.