With Real Madrid in danger of dropping into the dreaded Europa League for the first time, Zinedine Zidane needed his old guard to step up against Borussia Monchengladbach last night.
And step up they most certainly did.
Luka Modric and Toni Kroos rolled back the years with a masterclass in midfield, while Karim Benzema did his best CR7 impression with two emphatic headers as Real produced perhaps their finest performance of the season.
But while you’d struggle to spot Lucas Vazquez on the front pages of the Spanish press this morning – the 29-year-old academy graduate rarely dominates the headlines – his role in the vital 2-0 win didn’t go unnoticed by the famously demanding Real Madrid fanbase.
Vazquez has adapted superbly to a new-look right-back role this season and, two weeks after ripping Inter Milan apart at the San Siro, he was the architect of another crucial Champions League victory.
One of Zidane’s most reliable foot soldiers produced Benzema’s opener with an inch-perfect cross.
And it speaks volumes about his growing importance to Los Blancos that, if the fans had their way, Vazquez would be committing himself for life at the 13-time European champions.
The Spain international is due to become a free agent in the summer and, amid suggestions Jose Mourinho wants him at Tottenham Hotspur, there’s growing concern about Vazquez’s future.
“That’s a complicated subject… we’ll see what happens,” Vazquez told Movistar, via Marca, when asked about a new contract.
Defensa Central says Spurs are willing to pay £15 million for a versatile, prodigiously hard-working wideman who fits Jose Mourinho’s style like a tailored Armani suit.
Here’s what some Real Madrid fans had to say on Twitter:
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