Álvaro Carreras had the kind of night defenders do not forget quickly at the Santiago Bernabéu. Tasked with stopping Michael Olise in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, he was singled out after the match for a performance that French media and pundits said left him chasing shadows.
L’Equipe gave Real Madrid an average rating of 4.1 out of 10 and handed failing grades to nine of the 11 starters. Carreras got the lowest mark, a 2. The newspaper said Olise beat him for pace many times, that the Spanish fullback “lived through a nightmare” against the Frenchman’s speed and skill, and that he was responsible for the turnover that led to Harry Kane’s goal in the 46th minute. L’Equipe said his only positive contribution was a goal-line clearance in the ninth minute.
The criticism did not stop there. Samir Nasri said Carreras would be able to shout Olise’s name in his sleep that night and added that he was going to have nightmares about him. Adam Bate said the image that summed it up was Carreras looking around for help, with none forthcoming, and said he could not hope to deal with Olise alone. Walid Acherchour was even harsher, saying what Olise did to Carreras amounted to harassment. He also said he did not put five players ahead of Olise among the best in the world and praised his relationship with the ball, technical quality and execution.
That kind of scrutiny was always likely once Madrid put Carreras on Olise. The assignment was meant to blunt Bayern’s most dangerous threat down that flank, but the match quickly turned into a showcase for Olise’s pace and control. The focus from French media was on the individual duel rather than the result as a whole, and Carreras became the night’s clearest target for postgame judgment.
Álvaro Arbeloa offered the counterpoint after the final whistle. He called Carreras an incredible player and one of the best fullbacks in the world, said he fully trusted him and believed he would learn from the match, and stressed that it is not easy to face a player like Olise. For Carreras, the margin for error was tiny. For Madrid, the wider problem is that one of the Champions League’s sharpest wide players found that space over and over again anyway.
