With the La Liga and Champions League trophies safely stored in the Santiago Bernabeu cabinets once again, it’s safe to say that 2021/22 went pretty well for Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men enjoyed another historic campaign and produced some of the all-time greatest moments we’ve ever seen in the Champions League, and those in charge at the club will already be thinking about how to replicate that next year.
Here’s a run through Real’s 2021/22 campaign, from their player of the year to the biggest disappointment.
Karim Benzema
Real have had a handful of top performers this season, but Ballon d’Or winner-to-be Karim Benzema has to take the cake.
There aren’t even words to explain how good the Frenchman was this past year. 44 goals and 15 assists in 46 appearances, in a season which yielded two major trophies – perfection.
Benzema has already won Real’s Player of the Year award, and there’ll be plenty more individual accolades coming his way in the near future.
Honourable mentions: Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Junior
Karim Benzema vs Athletic Club
There are plenty of top strikes that deserve a mention here, but unsurprisingly, it’s Benzema who gets our vote for this one too. His finest strike of the campaign came against Athletic Club in December.
Just over three minutes into the game, Benzema ran on to a simple lay-off from Toni Kroos and didn’t even hesitate to pull the trigger, bending a first-time strike from the edge of the area perfectly into the side netting. It felt like a goal from a video game.
A perfect example of just what the veteran striker was capable of this year.
Honourable mentions: Vinicius Junior vs Sevilla, Marco Asensio vs Granada, Marco Asensio vs Inter
Real Madrid 3-1 Man City
The Champions League semi-final between Man City and Real Madrid will forever be remembered as one of the all-time greatest knockout ties, with the second leg standing out for Real’s sensational comeback.
Were they at their best for the whole game? No. Not even across the whole tie. But it was their performance in the dying embers of the tie which will never be forgotten.
Two stoppage-time goals from Rodrygo turned the tie on its head and sent it to extra-time, where a Karim Benzema penalty got the job done against the Premier League champions.
Honourable mentions: Real Madrid 4-1 Valencia, Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad
Eduardo Camavinga
Both Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba were undisputed successes in their debut seasons at the Bernabeu. Truthfully, the latter probably deserves this award, but Camavinga was just so impressive that it’s hard not to get excited about what he can offer the club.
Signed for a little over £30m last summer, the teenage midfielder largely played a backup role this season but did so to perfection. He was a sparkplug off the bench – something Real haven’t really had in his position for a while now – and some of his performances in the Champions League were sensational.
Camavinga looks set to dominate for Real’s midfield for the next decade at the very least. What a signing.
Honourable mention: David Alaba
Vinicius Junior
Another pretty simple choice here. Vinicius Junior rose from exciting youngster to an undisputed superstar over the past 12 months.
A newly discovered composure saw the 21-year-old finish this season with 22 goals in all competitions. His previous 118 games for Real had yielded just 14 goals, with nearly half of his career assists coming in this past campaign as well.
A contract extension is on the cards, and deservedly so.
Honourable mention: Eder Militao, Federico Valverde
Dani Carvajal
It’s too easy to give this to someone like Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale or Luka Jovic. The trio have been disappointing for a while, so much so that it’s hardly even disappointing.
Instead, we’ll go for Dani Carvajal who, while coming off the back of an impressive Champions League final performance, didn’t produce that level nearly enough over the course of the campaign. Injuries weren’t kind to him and there were a few too many times in which Carvajal looked out on his feet.
When fit, as he was against Liverpool, he’s among the best right-backs on the planet. Real just need to see that side more of him than they did this year.
Honourable mentions: Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, Luka Jovic
