After being sidelined through injury for more than five months, Ferland Mendy played his first Real Madrid match under Carlo Ancelotti on October 19 away at Shakhtar Donetsk and since that game he is considered the undisputed starter at left-back.

Mendy also started against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in El Clasico and was rested for the match with Elche, though he did come off the bench, before starting both duels with Rayo Vallecano and Shakhtar on home soil.

This means that Mendy has started in five of Los Blancos' last six games, with Ancelotti already making clear the player he considers his starting left-back. Meanwhile, Marcelo started away at Elche, but Miguel Gutierrez has lost prominence under the Italian tactician.

Mendy missed out on the 2020 European Championship as he had to undergo a long recovery process that saw him miss a few games in the first stretch of the season.

With him in the line-up, Real Madrid have lost just one game, that being against Levante back on January 21, as the Frenchman has registered 36 wins and 11 draws in the rest of the matches he's started.

Dreaming of the World Cup

Mendy was part of Didier Deschamps' France plans due to his versatility, as he could also feature at centre-back and right-back, before he picked up the knock that forced him to miss Euro 2020.

The Real Madrid defender will have to compete with Theo Hernandez and Lucas Digne for a spot in the France squad in his bid to make it for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.