Keylor Navas' fine form will not prevent Real Madrid from reigniting interest in David de Gea
Tuesday 27 October 2015 11:11, UK
In his weekly column, Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Guillem Balague explains why Keylor Navas' imperious form will not prevent Real Madrid from launching a fresh bid to sign David de Gea from Manchester United...
Keylor Navas is becoming the hero of Real Madrid, they haven't lost a game yet and they have only conceded three goals all season. That would lead some to say that they are a defensive team but, in fact, Navas is the goalkeeper that gets more shots on target of all the top European teams. He made 27 saves, four of them outstanding against Celta Vigo, and he's become the star of Real Madrid.
Real are conceding more shots on goal than they were last season though, so there is still work to do in terms of the team defending. One positive from what's happening means their injury problems have seen players that generally wouldn't count much become very important, for example Casemiro, Jese and Lucas Vazquez - who has given four assists this season. I don't think he'll challenge Gareth Bale when he returns but it's good to know he's doing a good job.
Rafa Benitez is receiving a lot of criticism from the Spanish press, some from a group of people that are anti Florentino Perez, some from a group that are pro Atletico Madrid and some from another bunch that are pro Barcelona. Rafa doesn't seem to have many friends in the media. But the results seem to be going in his favour and, certainly against Celta, they showed in the first half particularly that they are going the right way.
Super Celta can reach top four
Despite [Gustavo] Cabral's sending off on 56 minutes and conceding first they were outstanding, but particularly after they went down to 10 men. Nolito took the team on his shoulders and they gave a spectacle of attitude and offensive football. Without being aggressive they were very clever under pressure and in possession and it really is a pleasure to see Celta play that way.
If they can stay consistent and lucky with injuries they could challenge for the top four, I do hope they can sustain this level. Physically it is very demanding as Eduardo Berrizo asks everyone to run constantly and they do have a lot of intensity in everything they do. It is wonderful to see.
Suarez masking defensive frailties
The story of Barcelona was Luis Suarez, he scored a hat-trick and he'll get all of the praise. In fact 85 per cent of Barca's goals since Lionel Messi got injured have come from Neymar and Suarez but they do have a problem, they are conceding a lot.
It is very easy to score against them at the moment, they have conceded 12 goals in a week where in the same point last season they conceded their first of the season. It is surprising, although it may be less so when you take into account their injuries, the fact they can't sign any players which means they haven't been able to reinforce the team and certainly their defensive structure, which starts with from the front, has been much weaker than it's been for many years.
Javier Mascherano was sent off seven minutes from time because he insulted the linesman and it could well mean he misses the Clasico, so we'll have to keep any eye on that. Borja Baston, who is on loan at Eibar from Atletico Madrid, has scored six goals in the last five games after his goal at the Camp Nou and he is one of the bright spots of this seasons La Liga.
Moyes to remain in Spain
Levante sacked Lucas Alcaraz after their defeat at home to Real Sociedad. Levante really were a bad team and Real Sociedad took advantage, they haven't got a decent away record, they needed to get the three points and they did, so David Moyes is here to stay.
There was an ultimatum that the Levante and Celta Vigo games were key for Moyes but this victory means he should stay a little longer. There is still pressure, of course, because the majority of fans, media and people within the club aren't convinced about Moyes so he'll have to show he deserves the position.
Valencia manager Nuno is on the verge of being sacked unless things improve radically. There are question marks about what he is doing and the message from the club is that unless there is an improvement soon something may happen. They were very disappointed about losing at Atletico, he changed their formation and it didn't work out.
Konoplyanka coming to the fore
Sevilla beat Getafe easily thanks to fantastic displays from Yevhen Konoplyanka, Kevin Gameiro - who scored a hat-trick - and Ever Banega. Konoplyanka was particularly good, he's gone from being in and out of the team to becoming a leader of the team.
Guillem answers YOUR questions…
Will Real Madrid go back for David de Gea if Keylor Navas continues his good form? (@gurpal_1)
GUILLEM SAYS: "Real Madrid don't make decisions in terms of big signings based on sporting reasons, it is mainly down to business plans. De Gea fits the business plan of having a superstar in goal instead of Keylor Navas who is very good. So I wouldn't be surprised if they go back for De Gea."
When will David de Gea be realised as Spain's undisputed No 1 goalkeeper? (@Manutd_Shrestha)
GUILLEM SAYS: "I wouldn't say Vicente del Bosque has got many things wrong and he wanted a transition between De Gea and Casillas, which is taking place. They are sharing the No 1 shirt and Casillas will probably be No 1 at next summer's European Championships for the last time. You say undisputed but Casillas is doing well at Porto."
Do you believe Nolito will go to Barcelona in January? (@bradchuz)
GUILLEM SAYS: "Luis Enrique wants the club to go for him but Barcelona want to sort out a deal for Qatar and guarantee its future before they put the 18 million euros Nolito will cost down. It would be a good decision if he were to go to the Camp Nou."
What's going on at Malaga, they seem to be struggling this season? (@LaursenB)
GUILLEM SAYS: "They've just lost a lot of good players that were there, Samu Castillejo and Samu Garcia, now they've got the injury of Nordin Amrabat. Even Javi Garcia said earlier in the season that the team was worse than last season so the expectation should be lower.
"In any case he is a great coach and, even though he has complained in the lack of quality in the team compared to last season, he will make a huge effort for his coaching influence to help Malaga. Too often there's the impression that managers feel it is all down to signings and money, but you have to work to make the side better and I think Javier Garcia can do that."
