Dani Ceballos vs Osasuna, by the numbers

After Dani Ceballos’s match vs Osasuna last night, many fans are asking: Should Real Madrid keep him for next season?

The Spaniard had a rare start for Carlo Ancelotti in what was a rotated squad, but it didn’t look like he was too rusty apart from some misplaced passes and poor touches in the second half.

LISTEN: Kiyan and Om discuss Ceballos’s performance and break down Real Madrid’s win over Osasuna on the post-game Managing Madrid podcast for Patrons.

Ceballos was involved in both of Real Madrid’s goals in the first half. For the first goal, Ceballos received a disguised set-piece from from Asensio before playing a beautiful diagonal ball to Karim Benzema who ultimately set up David Alaba. For Real’s second, Ceballos was the recipient of a (great) pass into the box from Eduardo Camavinga. Ceballos got a foot on it and forced a save, and Marco Asensio was there to put home the rebound.

It wasn’t a perfect game, but perhaps that can be excused somewhat due to the lack of on-pitch familiarity with Eduardo Camavinga as the team’s anchor and his lack of rhythm overall. Still, the bounce was good, and Ceballos generated six shots and everything went through him in the build-up phase. He had 86 touches on the field (most of anyone bar Lucas Vazquez), was a funnel for possession, and a solid creator.

Should Real Madrid renew Dani Ceballos as a role player for the next coming seasons? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.