‘Camavinga left-back?’: how luck led to Real Madrid’s new dimension

Eduardo Camavinga was given a 10 out of 10 rating by a Spanish newspaper for his first-leg performance at left-back against Manchester City at the Bernabéu. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

It wasn’t the first time that necessity proved the mother of invention, and it won’t be the last that what was meant to be a stopgap turned into more than a stroke of luck – and, in a not so distant future, may even be seen as a stroke of genius.

Had Lucas Hernandez not been injured in France’s first game at the 2022 World Cup, Eduardo Camavinga would not have played at left-back for Les Bleus against Tunisia and Argentina later in the tournament.