This season is turning out to be a special one for Real Madrid, both collectively and individually for some players. As a group, the Merengues are playing at a very high level, and have already won the first piece of silverware this season.
On the other hand, some players are also having a very good time with the team. This is true, especially for the Englishman Jude Bellingham, who arrived at the club last summer and has been the stand-out player for Real Madrid in the first half of the season.
Similarly, Andriy Lunin is also having a very successful term in Thibaut Courtois’ absence, as he has shined whenever Ancelotti has picked him over Kepa.
Another player who has made the jump from the reserve team and got his first minutes with the first team this season is Nico Paz. He has been continuously training under Ancelotti for the last two and a half months.
While training with some of the biggest stars in the world of football is definitely going to help the youngster grow, MARCA notes that Paz has not been able to play too much on the field during this time.
He finds it difficult to break into Ancelotti’s team because of the presence of other highly competent players and is also not playing under Raul with Real Madrid Castilla.
In the 14 games in which he has been a part of Ancelotti’s team, Paz had gotten on the field eight times but accumulated only 128 minutes. 70 of these minutes came in a single match, the one against Arandina in the Copa del Rey.
During this time, Paz has missed the last six of Castilla’s nine games but still remains this team’s top goal scorer. Since having been called up with the first team, Paz has played only three games with Raul’s side, against Real Murcia, San Fernando, and Intercity, but accumulated the full 270 minutes in these games.