Five players who stood out for Real Madrid this pre-season

Real Madrid completed a very poor pre-season, although this isn’t a big problem knowing that real football begins next Tuesday. Los Blancos couldn’t record a single win out of the four games they played and yet five players proved they can have relevant minutes when the season starts.

1. Marco Asensio. Some could argue that his debut season with Real Madrid was so good with so many minutes that he was set for a mediocre campaign this time around. Asensio has proved he is the real deal and a player who should be in the starting XI every single game.
2. Theo Hernandez. Marcelo is still the undisputed starter at the left-back spot and yet Theo showed his brilliant season at Alaves was no fluke. Real Madrid have a gem here although he will need to improve on his one-on-one defense.
3. Keylor Navas. Two years ago, he almost joined Manchester United. He responded by completing a good season and winning La Undécima. This summer, rumors suggested that Los Blancos were after the promising Gianluigi Donnarumma and Keylor Navas has proved that he can still make saves. He ended last season in good form after a mediocre start and he will try to be more solid all throughout the campaign.
4. Isco Alarcon. Not as good as he was during the final third of last season but still made his case to be a starter. As long as Isco is in this good shape, Gareth Bale’s spot in the XI could be in jeopardy. Isco will sign his extension with the club next week.
5. Mateo Kovacic. Right now he has won his battle with Dani Ceballos for one spot in the midfield. It’s clear that one player out of the Ceballos-Llorente-Kovacic trio will have to be on the bench most of the season and it doesn’t look like the Croatian midfielder will be that man.