Valverde responds to the ‘threat’

Federico Valverde is ending the debate with goals. Real Madrid has had to play two and a half games without its starting striker, Karim Benzema, injured in the 30th minute of Celtic-Madrid and also absent against Mallorca and Leipzig. In Scotland, Hazard played the part of him and very well done, with a goal and an assist; against the Balearic team, it was Rodrygo who settled the ballot, also with a goal and an assist; but if there has been a common denominator in these three duels, it has been Valverde, who against Leipzig opened the can in the 80th minute, with a left foot, something that he already achieved against Mallorca to tie one at the edge of the break, and to which It is worth adding the assistance for Vinicius in the 0-1 at Celtic Park, before Hazard was seen. With two goals and two assists in the last four games, anyone would say that, in the absence of Benzema, the number nine is Valverde.

So much so that the Uruguayan has already matched the best goalscoring figure of his professional career, even though it’s only mid-September, with most of the season still to be played and after only eight games for Real Madrid. He has three goals, the same ones he scored in the entire 2020-21 season (he also did it in 2016-17, but in Castilla, who was then playing in Second B, non-professional category). His enormous goalscoring efficiency has ended up making Ancelotti not want to part with him at almost any time, either to play as a right winger or inside, his natural place: he has been a starter in seven of the eight games and has played 611 minutes.

Because Ancelotti is to blame for the goalscoring progression that the Uruguayan is experiencing, once nicknamed El Pajarito and now, much more daring, El Halcón. In the press conference after the victory over Leipzig, Carletto made it very clear that this is what he expects from Valverde throughout the season: “What seemed strange to me was that he had only scored one goal last season. I told him: “If you are not capable of scoring more than ten goals in a season, I have to tear up my coaching card”. She has a stone in her foot. And again he has scored with the left. He is very confident in all his facets”.

It is a request from Ancelotti, that Valverde needs to let go more and more when he appears on the front, which was recurring last season in the final stretch of the course, when the Uruguayan became essential for the Italian, who started at the time of the Champions League, including the final, in which he assisted Vinicius for the decisive 1-0. “I’m not putting you on anymore,” the coach joked with the Uruguayan to goad him on. And he publicly made it clear that he wanted to see him finish off more: “He has to take advantage of the shot he has and in recent games he has done it much more. It’s a quality he has and he hadn’t used it before. I think it’s good for him and for us.”

More aim, more luck

Valverde himself commented in a talk with AS before the Champions League final that Ancelotti has had a fundamental weight in letting his hair down in the finishing aspect: “He has asked me a lot, quite a lot. And for quite some time. I think I’m polishing it now. In the Uruguayan national team I have had a lot of prominence lately in that sense and that has given me the confidence to come to Madrid and show that it is one of my greatest qualities. I have to prove it. Hopefully I can provide a goal in the final. It would be very nice.” There was no goal, but there was assistance and at this start of the season Pajarito is being accompanied by his aim… and luck.

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Because Valverde’s misfortune was a constant at the end of last season, with those lashes with his right hand that didn’t go in for a bit or that met the post. Without going any further, in a win against Levante (6-0) he left without scoring despite the fact that he found the woodwork three times. In general terms, he has greatly improved his finesse in aiming: last year he made 36 shots, 11 of them on goal and with 4 posts. This course the jump has been enormous: 11 total shots, 8 on goal, no stick. His percentage of shots on goal over the total has gone from 31% to 73%. And this course fires once every 55 minutes, whereas in the past he did every 79′.

Performances like the ones he is showing at the start of the season have already placed him among the best Real Madrid players in terms of performance. According to data from Olocip’s Artificial Intelligence for AS, Valverde is the third player who has contributed the most value to the white team this season: with his actions, both offensive and defensive, has made Madrid add a value of 2.38 goals; his actions generate a goal every 157 minutes. Only Vinicius (3.16) and Rodrygo (2.64) surpass him in this section.