Dani Ceballos came home this Friday morning not wanting to go to sleep. The arduous journey back from Vila-real had not evaporated the joy of the goal that sealed the comeback at the La Cerámica stadium (2-3). According to sources close to him, he was thrilled. They advised him to lie down and he resisted. Ceballos’ cup night was an intense release for him after months of waiting for opportunities and filling in loose moments.
He appeared on the field when Real Madrid were in a desperate situation, 2-0 from the cup and out of the game without showing any reaction to Quique Setién’s side’s game. Earlier than usual, Carlo Ancelotti kicked off the plan and brought it up in the 56th minute, just after Vinicius’ nightmare Foyth had to be substituted. The effect was almost instantaneous. Barely a minute later, Ceballos had set up the Brazilian for the goal that sparked the comeback move. Just over 10 minutes later, he hung a ball off the far post which Benzema headed in. Jorgensen cleared it with a good stretch, but Militão caught the clearance and equalized.
Spurred on by Ceballos and Asensio who lined up with him, Madrid once again found themselves in the same winning mood that saw them lift last season’s amazing Champions League qualifiers. Although this time on enemy territory, without the advance from the Bernabéu, two unexpected footballers have already slipped.
Last year the photos of the comebacks of Benzema, Modric, Rodrygo and Camavinga were taken. A combination of the heavyweights and the future of the club. In La Cerámica, alongside the insistence of Vinicius and the amazing demonstration of Camavinga, the spirit of the child prodigy was created by two unwelcome people, Ceballos and Asensio, two guys who will end their contract in five months and who are very likely to leave Madrid at the moment.
Arriving in the dressing room at half-time, Ancelotti complained about what he saw. Once again he noted a lack of attitude and called for a change. The call was answered by two footballers who marked the squad’s competitive boundary that evening. Other than that, the Italian had little else he felt reliable to spark a reaction. With them on the bench were Hazard, Mariano, Vallejo, Odriozola, Mario Martín and Vinicius Tobias.
With Modric on the sidelines and Tchouameni injured and the focus turned to the NBA in Paris, Ancelotti only had to confide in two nearly misplaced footballers who didn’t feel the club had much interest in their continuation. And yet they did what the occasion called for, as the Italian later explained: “Asensio and Ceballos changed the game. They brought a lot more quality to the pitch, a lot more energy.”
Both have found a way to manage their contractual insecurity without fear. Marco Asensio is seen in one of the most stable moments of his life, according to sources close to him. He has his wedding planned for this summer, he is completing the creation of a foundation to help children with cancer and he is more or less content with the possibility of having to leave Real Madrid if he feels more important and wants to play more for gold team
Ceballos, who has been trying to play more at Arsenal for two years, has channeled his frustration into a very tough mentality, leading him to dilute his anger at the lack of opportunities with visits to the home gym. “With this jersey you have to make the most of every minute, be it more or less,” he said afterwards. “Every player wants more minutes but we know it’s complicated and I’ll be here to fight to play every game.”
Ancelotti said several times over the past year that he had been unfair to Utrerano, he should have given him more time. But since then the footballer has found that words don’t always follow deeds and has suspected for weeks that he won’t be offered a renewal. And despite everything, he and Asensio, two unwelcome people, responded to the call of a desperate situation with the unusual solvency of last season’s historic comebacks at the Bernabéu.
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