3 Points.. : 30 March 2025

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Kung_Fu_Zizou

Hero Ball continues. Real Madrid put on a mix of madness, creativity and sheer recklessness with enough to see off Leganés who tried desperately to get something out of the game.

The Heroes were Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.

Kylian Mbappe

– 33 Goals and 5 Assists in 45 games

Kylian Mbappe continues to scale the heights at Real Madrid despite a relatively slow start to the season. The Frenchman has delivered although in his own words the target is always the trophies. If he keeps playing like himself he should be able to lead Real Madrid to some more silverware before the end of the season.

Carlo Heaps Praise on Arda

Arda Guler returned from the international break beaming with confidence and managed to impress Ancelotti with his performance against Leganés. From my perspective, Arda’s ability is not in doubt but he is a player who needs to see a lot of the ball. He’s not going to be at his best without the ball and his teammates using him as a decoy. Hopefully he will be even better when he gets his next chance to shine.

The Wolf

Jude Bellingham is an extraordinary talent. The first of his kind that I’ve seen in my life. He literally plays everywhere during a game. Everywhere except GK. Many players have been lauded as being able to play anywhere as a superlative but Bellingham actually does it. He makes tackles. He finds passes in the final 3rd. He he dribbles and carries the ball forward. He heads away crosses and makes clearances. He creates for himself and others. He makes forward runs and tracks back. Absolutely incredible!

Luka Modric Keeps Making History

Luka Modric’s impact on Real Madrid has been nothing short of legendary. You can always find a great player with better stats or extravagant play but you’ll never find another Luka Modric.

When he arrived we had 9 Champions League titles. Now we have 15. He’s not done it alone but he’s always been key with mouth-watering highlights along the way. He’s done plenty of this with his back against the wall. Leyenda!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I said very early in the season we will need to see more Karim Benzema out of Kylian Mbappe for him to do well at Real Madrid and that it would come. I meant it in the sense that he cannot simple make runs and dribbles to create chances. He will have to be more involved in the play. My thoughts were not received with open arms to say the least. Yet here we are. Kylian still has to improve but that is all now down to experience in the role he’s carved out for himself. I sincerely hope he keeps the number 9 even after Luka departs.