“Hasn’t misplaced a pass since 2022”, “Not even your Xavi and Iniesta have this” - Real Madrid fans salute 28-year-old after 3-0 win vs Valladolid

Real Madrid fans took to X to wax lyrical about Dani Ceballos for his performance during the La Liga match with Valladolid on Saturday, January 25.

The 28-year-old made a significant impact in the 68 minutes he spent on the pitch as Los Blancos thrashed Valladolid 3-0 at the José Zorrilla Stadium.

Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw with Villarreal earlier in the day presented Real Madrid with yet another opportunity to extend their lead at the league's summit.

Carlo Ancelotti's men responded well to the opportunity as they started strongly, but it took them until the half-hour mark to find the breakthrough.

An in-form Kylian Mbappe curled into the far post after playing a neat one-two exchange with Jude Bellingham.

Despite being ahead, Real Madrid started the second half dominating proceedings, and Mbappe doubled his side's lead before the hour mark.

As the match neared the 90-minute mark, Madrid were granted a penalty to secure a third goal, with Mario Martín, the offender, receiving a second yellow card and subsequently being sent off against his parent club.

Mbappé confidently converted the spot kick, sending Karl Hein the wrong way to complete his first hat-trick for Los Blancos. The scoreline remained unchanged after the remaining minutes and

Real Madrid got their fourth league win in a row and subsequently extended their lead on the league table.

While Mbappe won the POTM, Dani Ceballos also had an incredible game. The Spanish midfielder had 118 touches, made 3 key passes, wasn't dribbled past throughout his time on the pitch, and had a rating of 7.6 as per Sofascore.

After the match, fans took to X to heap praise on his performance.

A popular Real Madrid blog named Managing Madrid wrote:

"Ceballos hasn't misplaced a pass since 2022"

Another X user tweeted:

"Ceballos hasn't misplaced a pass since 2022. Not even your Xavi and Iniesta have this in their records book."

"We need to start having serious discussions. Ceballos has been insane." @totalcristiano wrote

"Another flawless performance from Dani Ceballos" @WolRMFC added

"Dani Ceballos’ form now means Camavinga should take the LB position very seriously" @the_marcoli_boy chimed in

"Call him "Dani" instead of Ceballos, put him in a red and blue shirt and he's getting the best midfielder itw shouts...p" @vini_ball raved

"Honestly, what's there to not like about Ceballos right now? Feel like he's still very underrated. Brings so much balance to the team." @GreatWhiteNueve wrote

"Where was this version of Ceballos this whole time ? I swear I used to get angry whenever he got playing time last season and now I’m praying that he starts" @_Wangster tweeted

"A 7.8 rating without a goal or an assist in just 45 minutes played.. Forget about Jude Bellingham, Pedri isn’t better than Dani Ceballos" @DarrylRMFC_ gushed

Carlo Ancelotti says 'La Liga isn't over' we Real Madrid thrashed Real Valladolid 3-0

In the aftermath of Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Real Valladolid, Ancelotti insists that the La Liga title race isn't over.

The result saw Los Blancos lead second-placed Atletico Madrid with four points after 21 league games.

Ancelotti said after the match (via Tribuna):

"La Liga is not over, still a long way to go. Now we have to continue like this. We only have a small advantage. Every game has to be fought, even if it may seem simple."

"We need to find some balance. We have performed well in the league, we have taken advantage of that, but the league is so long that we cannot imagine it is over. The game has been less complicated than usual,"

Real Madrid will next be in action against Ligue 1 side Brest in the Champions League on Wednesday.