The forgotten man pulled Real Madrid out of trouble. Will Ceballos get more space?

He is easy to forget in Real Madrid’s packed line-up. But Dani Ceballos has his price and he showed it again in Thursday’s cup match at Villarreal.

The Betis product started playing for the Verdiblancos in the 2013/14 season at the age of 18. His great talent was noticed by Real Madrid and they bought him into their services in the summer of 2017.

He didn’t disappoint much with his performances, on the other hand, he didn’t really shine either, something more was expected from him. In two seasons, he appeared in 35 games in La Liga in the white jersey and went on loan to Arsenal.

He had a decent start there, but gradually his performances faded. For two years, he played fairly regularly, but he didn’t make a dent in the world and Arsenal didn’t ask for his buyout and returned him to Real Madrid.

It was expected that Real would not keep him either and Ceballos would leave, but that didn’t happen. The 26-year-old midfielder got injured in the summer and spent the whole autumn on the sidelines. Fans somehow forgot that Ceballos is still in the squad, reportedly a return to Betis was to be arranged.

However, that didn’t work out and Ceballos remained at the Santiago Bernabéu in the spring. The turning point came in April. Real had to start rotating more due to the demanding schedule and Ceballos, with his commitment, combativeness and constant running, endeared himself to Carlo Ancelotti and gradually started to get more opportunities.

Thus, he started the final minutes in both quarter-final matches against Chelsea, then played twice in La Liga in the starting line-up. Against Espanyol at the Bernabéu, for example, in the duel after which Real celebrated the title, he was the best player on the pitch.

In the semi-final against Manchester City he also played a bit more, starting the first game for 12 minutes, the second for 17. Then a brief injury slowed him down, but he still had a role to play at the end of the season.

The rebirth of Ceballos

So suddenly Real were no longer thinking about selling. Although the competition in the centre of midfield in the form of Kroos, Modric, Tchouameni, Camavinga and Valverde is lethal for Ceballos and he is only the last in the hierarchy, he is working hard for his place.

When taking stock at the end of the season, Ancelotti singled out Ceballos in particular as someone who deserved more minutes and he regrets not getting as many. So at the start of the current season he was coming off the bench quite regularly before he was injured in October.

He’s been playing again since the start after the World Cup but unfortunately he’s had a bit of a ride with Real’s poor form and his performances haven’t been glorious either, although he’s certainly not been one of the worst.

In the Copa del Rey semi-final against Villarreal, he started the game on the bench, only for Real to experience horror. At half-time, they were 2-0 down at the Estadio de la Ceramica and were looking for more goals. In the 56th minute, Ancelotti pulled off a double substitution when the lacklustre Kroos and Rodrygo were replaced by Ceballos and Asensio and suddenly the game began to turn.

Immediately a minute after arriving on the pitch, Ceballos sent Vinícius on an independent breakaway and the Brazilian scored, the 26-year-old midfielder notching an assist seconds after taking to the pitch.

But Real continued to press and Ceballos and Asensio brought a new energy and completely changed the complexion of the game. In the 69th minute, Ceballos’ wonderful centre found Benzema, whose header was still caught by the Villarreal goalkeeper, but Militao headed the ball into the net.

And in the 86th minute, Ceballos completed his supershow. He started the action himself when he passed the ball to Vinícius in his own half, who dribbled all the way to the opponents’ whitewash. The ball reached Asensio, who picked up his header and found the onrushing Ceballos on the whitewash from the second wave, only for him to clear the ball to the right post without preparation.

Ceballos claimed another chance in the base and showed that even in a packed Real Madrid midfield he can make it through.

Source: Twitter, Copa del Rey