Dean Huijsen Shines in Real Madrid's Defeat
On a night when Real Madrid finally slipped, Dean Huijsen stood tall.
In a laboured, blunt performance at La Cartuja, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side repeatedly crashing into green-and-white resistance and a sharp Vieites in goal, the teenager in the number 4 shirt emerged as the one clear positive. While Madrid’s attack misfired, Huijsen’s display in the heart of defence crackled with authority.
Number 4 with a point to prove
This wasn’t just another start for the centre-back who arrived from Málaga. It was an exam. He passed it with distinction.
Taking charge of the back line, Huijsen played with a command that belied his age. Spanish outlet Marca has already highlighted a noticeable shift in his mentality this season: harder, more competitive, more ruthless in duels. That edge may not be a coincidence. When he took over the number 4 shirt from David Alaba, he spoke of the weight it carries — the same number worn by his idols Sergio Ramos and Fernando Hierro.
He had promised: “What I know for certain is that I will give everything I have every day, whether that is in training or in matches.” At La Cartuja, with Madrid stumbling to their first defeat of the campaign, he lived that line with every tackle and sprint.
Locking down Cucho and fronting up to Antony
His primary assignment was clear: keep Juan “Cucho” Hernández quiet. He did it relentlessly.
Huijsen shadowed the Colombian striker, refusing to let him receive clean ball inside the box. Every time Betis tried to find their forward between the lines, the young defender read the pass, stepped in, and cut it out with sharp, well-timed interventions. When the game opened up, he had the pace to win the races into space as well.
The night wasn’t just about Cucho. Antony, one of Betis’ most dangerous and explosive players, tested Madrid’s back line in a tense, physical battle. Huijsen met that challenge head-on, never backing down, matching aggression with aggression and refusing to let the duel tilt away from him.
More than a stopper
What separated Huijsen from most of his teammates was not only what he did without the ball, but what he did with it.
Alongside Arda Güler, he was Madrid’s standout performer because he dared to play. He took the ball under pressure, stayed calm, and chose his passes with clarity. His decision-making was sharp, his distribution clean, his willingness to step forward a rare injection of personality on a flat night.
He almost turned an excellent performance into a heroic one.
In the 11th minute, after pushing up for a corner, he forced Vieites into a difficult save from close range, then crashed a header off the crossbar moments later. After the break, he won the ball high up the pitch and sparked a move that nearly produced a decisive chance for Kylian Mbappé. If either of those actions ends in a goal, the entire story of the match flips.
A partnership in progress
Alongside him, Ibrahima Konaté delivered a solid, if less convincing, display. The French defender did his basic defensive work, but looked some way short of full assurance, both on the ball and in his positioning.
The contrast between the two was clear. Huijsen looks settled, sharp, and on an upward curve. Konaté, still adjusting, appears to need rhythm and games to reach his peak in a white shirt. The partnership is a work in progress, but nights like this underline who is currently setting the standard.
Madrid’s new defensive pillar
For a club that has seen its back line exposed too often in recent seasons, Huijsen’s emergence is no small gain. On a difficult night, he restored a measure of calm and confidence to a line that has often been Madrid’s Achilles heel.
His performances are starting to resemble those of the legends whose number he wears: front-foot defending, presence, leadership. With each game, he strengthens his claim to be more than just a promising youngster. He looks like a defensive leader in the making.
There is a personal battle running alongside Madrid’s season, too. After missing out on the World Cup squad that Spain went on to win under Luis de la Fuente, Huijsen is chasing his way back into the national-team picture. Every tackle, every interception, every surge forward is a message.
If he keeps playing like this, how long can Spain afford to ignore him?
