The Uruguayan is growing as the game progresses and has been on a sublime level against Liverpool, Chelsea and City
He RealMadrid He knows that he will play the most important game of the season on Wednesday. The meeting that allows it turn your season from good to excellent. They risk the possibility of adding the fifteenth and re-issue the title of European champion.
For this, the team must be at least at the same level as in the first leg. And there, Fede Valverde appears as a totally essential player. The Uruguayan is the combustion engine of Ancelotti’s team. As the minutes go by, the heartbeat of the game takes place and it begins to grow and grow until it becomes ubiquitous.
It happened against Liverpool, when at Anfield he was the key to shaking up the team after Vinicius’ goal. He made a spectacular second part and knew how to interpret the spaces that Klopp’s Madrid team gave. He passed against Chelsea, a draw in which he was the best of Real Madrid, sensationally pressing the ball into the first leg and winning it back and being named MVP in the second leg helping the team to come out from behind and free themselves from the pressure of the ‘blue’ team and “kill” the tie with the help of Rodrygo in the 0-2.
Fede is everywhere and in the Champions League he is most noticed. More of the same in the game against City. As soon as the Uruguayan started showing up, Madrid grew and was superior to Guardiola’s team. The data shows that it became ubiquitous in the medium: He was the player who hit the most balls in the 2nd third of the field (that is, the midfield, with 39, three more than Kroos), was the one who best connected the midfield with those above, helping the team through his passes, being the Real Madrid player who made the most passes made to the last third gave (7), and the one who made the most progressive passes (6, tied with Kroos), in addition to starring in the team’s third-best combination of forward passes with 6 passes, all from him to Rodrygo .
In the defensive part he was of an extraordinary level, he helped a lot to make City uncomfortable with the ball (they will tell me how many teams and players are capable of that) and was key for the white square to build a wall become. He was the 4th player to recover the most balls (4), and was Imperial in hand-to-hand combat (3rd most games played, 11, and 2nd most wins, with 7), being one of the best in defensive 1vs1 (4/5, 80% in defensive duels), and even above (2nd to play and win the most duels, 3 of 4, 75%, behind only Rüdiger).
In summary, the data supports the sensations with which the madridistas left the Bernabéu. “Today Valverde was everywhere”. It is the usual trend in the Champions League this season and Real Madrid will have many more options to continue if Fede is back in the lead. The Uruguayan is the thermometer of the famous Ancelotti kettle and the feeling is that it is reaching the boiling point.
Source: Goal