1 goal, 86 touches: Real Madrid star excels in undesired territory against Leganes – Analysis | OneFootball

The victory that Real Madrid got over Osasuna right before the start of the November international break was one of the key events for the Merengues’ season. Los Blancos had lost the games against Barcelona and AC Milan before that game, and another failure to get the full three points from this game would have put Carlo Ancelotti and the whole of the team under immense pressure.

However, Real Madrid were able to put on a highly impressive display as they got a 4-0 victory, courtesy of a Vinicius Junior hat-trick and Jude Bellingham’s first goal of the season. Still, Los Blancos had to pay dearly to get this win, as they saw three of their players, Rodrygo Goes, Eder Militao, and Lucas Vazquez leave the pitch with injuries.

These injuries left the Real Madrid backline further depleted, but luckily, the youngster Asencio stepped up in Militao’s absence, giving Ancelotti an option to depend upon in the weeks that were to follow. However, Vazquez’s injury meant there were no natural right-backs present in the first team, as Dani Carvajal was already out with an injury.

In such a situation, Ancelotti decided to field Federico Valverde as his right-back in the game against Leganes last night, which Real Madrid ended up winning 3-0. The Uruguayan has himself admitted that this is not a position that he enjoys playing in, but still put in a memorable performance.

Valverde once again played the full 90 minutes in this game, and the shining jewel in this performance was the goal that he scored in the initial phase of the second half from a free-kick set up by Dani Ceballos and Arda Guler.

But his game was much more than just that goal, as, according to data published by Sofascore, he got on the ball 86 times on the night, almost once every minute. He was also very good with his passing, as he completed 62 of his 66 passes, thus recording a 94% passing accuracy. He also gave 1 key pass and was accurate with 7 of his 8 attempted long balls.

He also shone in his defensive role, making 4 clearances on the night. Furthermore, he also made 3 interceptions and 2 tackles, thus fulfilling the defensive role that was expected from him in the right-back position.

With this performance, Carlo Ancelotti can go into the match against Liverpool with a calmer head, as he has a highly reliable backup for Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez. Hopefully, Valverde will be able to put in another such excellent performance at Anfield, and help Real Madrid qualify for the next phase of their favourite competition, the UEFA Champions League.