Castilla bounced back from their defeat in Mérida with a convincing home win over Cacereño, battling through heavy rain, injuries, and a tough opponent. What seemed like a perfect day, however, shifted when Álvaro Arbeloa stepped into the press room.
The Castilla coach, serving a two-match suspension and watching from the stands, delivered a pointed message to one of his standout players: Joan Martínez. The young center-back played the full 90 minutes and continues to be a key figure this season, but Arbeloa was blunt about what he expects from him.
“He’s very talented, but he has a long way to go. He needs to train much harder, with more focus and intensity. What he’s doing now isn’t enough to become a first-team player,” Arbeloa said, stressing that the demands of his position at Real Madrid are extremely high. “He’ll be great for Castilla, but to reach the top level, he must be professional and train at maximum intensity every day.”
The comments are striking given Martínez’s importance to the team. After recovering from a cruciate ligament injury last year, he has started every league match and played 1,031 of 1,080 possible minutes—95% of the season so far.
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| LA LIGA | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | |||
| POS | TEAM | M | +/- | P |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 12 | 16 | 31 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 12 | 17 | 28 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| 4 | Atletico Madrid | 12 | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Real Betis | 12 | 6 | 20 |
| 6 | Espanyol | 12 | 0 | 18 |
| 7 | Athletic Club | 12 | -1 | 17 |
| 8 | Getafe | 12 | -2 | 17 |
| 9 | Sevilla | 12 | -1 | 16 |
| 10 | Alaves | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| 11 | Elche | 12 | -1 | 15 |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 12 | -2 | 15 |
| 13 | Celta Vigo | 12 | -3 | 13 |
| 14 | Real Sociedad | 12 | -3 | 13 |
| 15 | Mallorca | 12 | -6 | 12 |
| 16 | Osasuna | 12 | -4 | 11 |
| 17 | Valencia | 12 | -10 | 10 |
| 18 | Girona | 12 | -13 | 10 |
| 19 | Levante | 12 | -7 | 9 |
| 20 | Oviedo | 12 | -13 | 8 |
| POS | TEAM | M | +/- | P |
| 1 | Bayern München | 4 | 11 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 4 | 11 | 12 |
| 3 | Inter | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| 5 | Paris Saint Germain | 4 | 9 | 9 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 4 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | Real Madrid | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Galatasaray | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | Tottenham | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 11 | Barcelona | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| 12 | Chelsea | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 13 | Sporting CP | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 14 | Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 15 | Qarabag | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 16 | Atalanta | 4 | -2 | 7 |
| 17 | Atletico Madrid | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | PSV Eindhoven | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| 19 | Monaco | 4 | -2 | 5 |
| 20 | Pafos | 4 | -3 | 5 |
| 21 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | -4 | 5 |
| 22 | Club Brugge KV | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 23 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 4 | -4 | 4 |
| 24 | Napoli | 4 | -5 | 4 |
| 25 | Marseille | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 26 | Juventus | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 27 | Athletic Club | 4 | -5 | 3 |
| 28 | Union St. Gilloise | 4 | -8 | 3 |
| 29 | Bodo/Glimt | 4 | -3 | 2 |
| 30 | Slavia Praha | 4 | -6 | 2 |
| 31 | Olympiakos Piraeus | 4 | -7 | 2 |
| 32 | Villarreal | 4 | -4 | 1 |
| 33 | FC Copenhagen | 4 | -8 | 1 |
| 34 | Kairat Almaty | 4 | -9 | 1 |
| 35 | Benfica | 4 | -6 | 0 |
| 36 | Ajax | 4 | -13 | 0 |
| LA LIGA | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | |
| Kylian Mbappé | 13 Goals | Real Madrid |
| R. Lewandowski | 7 Goals | Barcelona |
| J. Álvarez | 7 Goals | Atletico Madrid |
| V. Muriqi | 6 Goals | Mallorca |
| C. Hernández | 5 Goals | Real Betis |
| B. Varga | 6 Goals | Ferencvarosi TC |
| V. Osimhen | 6 Goals | Galatasaray |
| E. Haaland | 5 Goals | Manchester City |
| H. Kane | 5 Goals | Bayern München |
| Kylian Mbappé | 5 Goals | Real Madrid |
