Valverde, after scoring against Barça in Riyadh. /
Analysis
Valverde regains ground with the goal that put the whites in a final of the Spanish Super Cup that Ancelotti hopes to face with all his available stars
Real Madrid: Real Madrid talk to the RFEF about the problem with the next FIFA date and the quarterfinals of the Cup”>Fede Valverde has found in Saudi Arabia a fertile territory for his interests. The Real Madrid midfielder, protagonist two years ago in the final of the Spanish Super Cup held in Jeddah after having an abortion with the entry to Morata that cost him his expulsion an occasion that could mean the title for Atlético, ultimately defeated in the Penalty shoot-out for the whites was once again decisive on Wednesday in Riyadh, solving an extraordinary classic in overtime against Barça. The goal of the ‘Pajarito’ helps him to take flight on a complicated course.
The Uruguayan started the season as a fixture in the line-ups of Carlo Ancelotti, who returned to Real Madrid with the aim of raising the physical potential of an old engine room. Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Chelsea came from tyrannizing the Champions League with a frenetic pace and Carletto’s wish was for Chamartín’s team to adapt to the new times. For this reason, he considered Valverde essential, a ‘box to box’ that Zinedine Zidane had introduced in the front line, although conditioned by the validity of the trinity of midfielders that imposed his law during the last royal cycle of Real Madrid on the continent. The name of Camavinga also appeared on that roadmap, another young man with a great capacity for deployment.
That is why it was not surprising that Valverde was a starter in the first ten games of the season, seven of which he played in full. But the sprain in the lateral ligament of the left knee that he suffered in the final stretch of the classic held on October 24 at the Camp Nou clouded a campaign that, until then, aimed to be that of his final settlement in the eleven. Since then, the former Peñarol has only started in three games, while Ancelotti clung to the holy trinity of Casemiro, Kroos and Modric to cement the streak that allowed Real Madrid to open gas in the League.
The lack of minutes led Valverde to live weeks of anxiety. Despite the fact that the club endorsed its importance in the project by renewing the contract that expired in 2025 until 2027 and shielded it with a clause of 1,000 million against the interest of clubs such as Bayern Munich, the Uruguayan needed an opportunity to demonstrate that he is in a position to once again alter the appearance of Real Madrid’s midfield. Hence his joy at beating Ter Stegen and scoring his first goal of the course, the sixth he has recorded since he made his debut with Chamartín’s team.
Doubts
Valverde’s drive is good news for Ancelotti, who is preparing for Sunday’s final pending the hits. The Italian hopes to recover Alaba, whose absence due to muscle discomfort against Barça reduced Real Madrid’s defensive muscle and, above all, reduced its ability to start playing from behind, one of the main virtues of the Austrian multipurpose player. The former Bayern player, who had only missed two games this season – against Celta at the Santiago Bernabéu also due to muscle problems and against Athletic in San Mamés due to covid – forms a very solvent duo with Militao, who suffered from his loss against Barça.
The other elements of concern for Ancelotti are Modric, Vinicius and Benzema. The Croatian midfielder came out exhausted from the classic, but his contest in the final seems fundamental, since the performance of the block drops many integers without the Balkan’s compass. The Brazilian winger withdrew in the second part of extra time with minor muscular discomforts of which no details have been revealed. In any case, his presence on Sunday does not seem to be in danger, nor does that of Benzema, who was touched on the shoulder. “It’s just a blow,” reassured the Lion, elected MVP of the first semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup.
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