Real Madrid’s 4-4 draw with Villarreal saw the ‘B unit’ sent out by Carlo Ancelotti at La Ceramica, and put on a brilliant show, but it comes with a bitter taste for one or two of Los Blancos.
Ancelotti said that he was ‘not worried’ by conceding four goals, and that it was an open game where his side were playing ‘attacking, beautiful football’. However it has not helped Eder Militao, who was holding out faint hopes of making the Champions Legue final team at Wembley, but the sight of Alexander Sorloth terrorising him has convinced Los Blancos – Nacho Fernandez will start alongside Antonio Rudiger against Borussia Dortmund, as per Relevo.
While Rudiger also suffered at the hands of Sorloth, Militao continued to look off the pace and far from his best against Villarreal, in contrast to Nacho, who has returned to his best form over the past two months. Any slim hopes Andriy Lunin had of earning a surprise start have been put to bed too.
Nacho has performed well throughout the Champions League knockout stages, and handled Erling Haaland and Harry Kane reasonably well. He will back himself against Niclas Fullkrug for Dortmund, and has the chance to lift the Champions League as captain, starting in the team for the first time, and ride off into the sunset, drawing to a close his Real Madrid career.