There is no need to doubt Modric's ability to provide comfort to Real Madrid's game. In terms of age, he is indeed old, but in terms of ability he is still like a young child. Real Madrid's decision to offer Modric a new contract was the right decision in my opinion. Now Real Madrid does have young players to fill the void in midfield, but they still have to collaborate with experienced players. I don't mean to doubt the abilities of Real Madrid's young players, but experience speaks volumes in this regard. It is very difficult to find a player as capable as Modric, even though there are many young players with a lot of potential now.
Modrić's greatest asset is his experience. A one-year deal is a good one but I am sure that other clubs will be willing to offer him a two-year contract. Maybe he wants to retire in Madrid and if possible start a coaching career because he would be a food coach. His strength and passing accuracy have not reduced. Modrić is a player that will be active till he gets to 40.
To retire is unlikely, when this contract ends I think Modric will still be the same as the previous Madrid players by switching to a smaller team like Marcelo for example.
But now the point is not there, because at the moment Modric is still with Madrid for their short-term contract and I think that with the current conditions it is quite clear that next season he will still be maintained accompanied by several young players while giving more confidence to young players, especially for opportunities play. As for Modric, he will indeed still be one of the midfielders who will indeed be a supply when needed, but his portion may be slightly reduced in order to provide good rotation for some young players or new players for next season.
Comparing the recent performances of Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, it is easy to assume that Villarreal is in a good rhythm. They are unbeaten in their last three matches and have won both. On the other hand, Athletic Club managed to earn only 1 point in the last three matches. And so the Villarreal team is being considered as the favorite.
But the problem is that Villarreal's past record against Athletic Club is not good. Villarreal's last win against Athletic Club was in 2018. And they could not win even one of the next 8 matches. Villarreal has drawn 5 matches and lost 3. And so it cannot be said that Athletic Club is a weak opponent for Villarreal.
The draw against Valencia in the previous week was a little disturbing, but on the other hand, of course, by looking at Bilbao's current condition, especially in the last 3 matches, of course there is more hope for Villarreal.
Currently Bilbao is still having problems. apart from that, Dani Vivian's red card in the previous match was also clearly a big loss now because Vivian has always been a starter and now they have to be without this player which makes it a little troublesome.