“It’s a pleasure to play with them“ - Aurelien Tchouameni heaps praises on Real Madrid duo following standout display against Celta Vigo
Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni has heaped praise on two of his Real Madrid teammates. He expressed his pleasure in playing with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. after the Spanish giants' win over Celta Vigo on Saturday, October 19.
Los Blancos extended their unbeaten streak in LaLiga to 42 games with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu. Mbappe opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Williot Swedberg restored parity in the 51st minute. Vinicius then scored the winner in the 66th minute via an excellent assist from Luka Modric.
In a recent interview, midfielder Tchouameni said about Mbappe and Vinicius (via Madrid Universal):
“It’s incredible to play with both of them. They help us a lot on the pitch. They are incredible players and people. It’s a pleasure to play with them.”
Vinicius has been a key player for Real Madrid over the years now and has registered 88 goals and 82 assists in 277 games for them. He's contributed five goals and seven assists in 13 games across competitions this season.
Tchouameni's compatriot Mbappe, meanwhile, joined Los Blancos in the summer after the expiration of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He's scored eight goals and provided one assist in 12 games across competitions.
Carlo Ancelotti on Aurelien Tchouameni's positioning after Real Madrid's win over Celta Vigo
Aurelien Tchouameni is primarily a defensive midfielder but has also played as a centre-back or a central midfielder for Real Madrid. He played as a defensive midfielder against Celta Vigo but was found out of position at times, leading his side prone to attacks. Los Blancos were arguably fortunate to see the hosts miss numerous good chances.
In his post-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti was asked about Tchouameni's positioning in the match. He said (via Managing Madrid):
“It’s not that we have to work on it a lot. As long as he gets in between the centre-backs, that’s fine. The only thing is that, if we lose the ball, he would get forward and the centre-backs would be open. And that’s where we suffered.
"We have to fix it; calm down, we can do it. But we’re not going to play like this all the time. We might do it in some games, to have a low-pressure start, but when the opponent plays in a different formation, we can play with the same pivot as always.”
Tchouameni has made 12 appearances across competitions this season. Overall, he's made 100 appearances for Real Madrid since arriving from AS Monaco in 2022 for a reported fee of €80 million.