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On several occasions, Real Madrid center-back Eder Militao has shown us that he has the ability to be a starting central defender for the Whites one day. However, the former FC Porto player has not had enough opportunities to get the valuable minutes he needs to fix his more subtle problems in his game.
Militao started at Real Madrid with Sergio Ramos injured against Deportivo Alavés. It was a great venue for Los Blancos as they had just lost to Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey after their exit from the Spanish Super Cup to Athletic Club. Militao actually played in the midweek disaster against Alcoyano, but he scored in the match and was the only player to be commended in that loss.
Of course, the Brazilian center-back wanted to be on the winning side, and put in a quality performance in the 4-1 victory at Mendizorroza against Deportivo Alavés.
He made a couple of mistakes, but on the whole he impressed the Madridistas. After a difficult night together against Shakhtar Donetsk that gave fans memories of the knockout loss to Manchester City in the second leg of the round of 16, Raphael Varane and Militao straightened the boat at Alavés.
Eder Militao is one of the best passers of Real Madrid this season
According to WhoScored.com, the 23-year-old recorded four tackles, the season-high, with an interception to boot. He completed 93.1 percent of his passes, increasing his season average to 90.9. Militao, in fact, is now third on the team in percentage of passes completed, with only Toni Kroos and Sergio Ramos at the top. Not bad company.
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I think Militao’s passing quality and even the passing range are pretty underrated. He plays on a team with Ramos in the center of defense starting in front of him, so it is not surprising that as a reserve his pass is missed. But at 23, Militao is more composed and advanced on the ball than most center-backs, especially substitutes. He’s already better with the ball than Varane, if we’re honest.
Although he now leads the team with 2.7 tackles per game and ranks second behind Casemiro in interceptions per game in La Liga, Militao ranks low among Real Madrid players in another important statistical category. Minutes played.
Álvaro Odriozola and Mariano Díaz, who ideally would be sold this summer, are the only players with fewer minutes than Militao among the men of Madrid’s first team. Militao has played less than Marcelo, Nacho and Isco, for example.
Nacho has been solid this season and is a great substitute, but how much future does he have at Madrid? Is it really better for the team in the long run that Zinedine Zidane prefers Nacho to Militao? I don’t think so, and I think Militao’s performance against Alavés with Nacho also out is a reminder that the Brazilian can play a bigger role as the team’s third center-back.
Militao shouldn’t be loaned and selling it would be an atrocious idea. Whether it’s this win over Alavés or last year’s win over Athletic Club, Militao has had some great games for Real Madrid. His numbers this season are also quite good, and Real Madrid should give him every possible opportunity to take advantage of these performances.
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Ramos and Varane are entrenched, as they should be. Arguably, they are still the best center-back pair in the world, and that’s not going to change. But with Ramos’s future still technically uncertain and David Alaba fitting in better on the left-back than on the right-back, there should be another incentive for Real to continue giving Militao opportunities. With little money, it is better to stick with Militao and develop it than to spend money on a central defender who could go to a clear marker of difference in attack. Because right now, Militao looks like he could make a difference in his own right, albeit on the defensive.
