9/13 duels won, 6 tackles: Spanish defender extends his good form as Real Madrid edge past Juventus

Xabi Alonso was unable to start a back 3 for the opening match as Real Madrid lacked the number of center-backs, but he was able to shift to his preferred formation once Antonio Rudiger returned to the side after injury.

The entire side began performing well, and there were patterns of play, which were evident that the players were getting used to the Spaniard’s tactics.

At Bayer Leverkusen, one of the players who largely benefited from this back-three formation was Alejandro Grimaldo, who played as a left wingback under Xabi.

Xabi unlocked Grimaldo and sometimes even played him as a winger, with the Spanish wingback recording 4 goals and 13 assists this season and 12 goals and 20 assists last season.

At Real Madrid, Fran Garcia was placed in that role as there was uncertainty regarding Alvaro Carreras’ arrival at the club.

The Spanish left-back improved his defensive capabilities in the league this season and stepped up in Ferland Mendy’s absence.

But so far in the Club World Cup, fans have seen a completely different and rejuvenated Fran Garcia, who has been an underrated player for the Merengues in this tournament.

He carried his good form from the group stages and put on his best display against Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

As noted by Sofascore, against the Bianconeri, Fran won 9/13 duels, out of which 8 were ground duels. The 25-year-old also made a key pass and defensively was involved in 9 actions — 6 tackles, 2 clearances, and 1 interception.

This rounded up a spectacular defensive performance where the Los Blancos backline was able to keep a clean sheet against the Italian side.

With such performances, he is knocking on the door to be a regular starter and is ready to fight for his place at Real Madrid.

It’s still unknown whether Carreras will arrive at the club in this transfer window, but one thing is for sure — Fran Garcia will not go down without a fight, as he has shown under Xabi so far.