Keylor goes under the spotlight as opportunities dwindle
The magnitude of the Madrid derby represents the perfect chance for the Costa Rican keeper to put his error-strewn season behind him.
A big-game opportunity
Keylor Navas faces another test and more scrutiny on Saturday in the Madrid derby (16:15, CET). In a season largely peppered with mistakes and reports foretelling his future elsewhere, the pressure is mounting on the keeper from Costa Rica to make amends in a crunch local derby, particularly with Simeone's men gaining momentum in recent weeks.
Falling short of the previous season
Navas's year has been patchy to say the least and the sacrifice he made in the summer, prioritising Real Madrid over his national team, now seems like a poor choice, with his early return resulting in a string of errors, first against Dortmund and then in games against Alavés, Sevilla, Napoli, Las Palmas and Betis. Keylor has failed to live up to his sterling 2015-16 campaign.
Crunch time
For the first time in his career, Navas has now gone 12 games conceding - 10 with Madrid and two with Costa Rica. Saturday's derby constitutes the best chance to blow away the cobwebs of doubt, particularly as the margin for error becomes that much slimmer in the business end of the season. Moreover, the game against Atlético is just the beginning as Los Blancos are also due to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and Barcelona, three perfect opportunities for Navas to clean up his season.
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|
| Upcoming matches |
|---|