3 reasons for optimism after Real Madrid’s draw against Valencia
By Alex McVey
3. The youth are the future
Two of Real Madrid’s younger players stood out for their performances against Valencia: Mateo Kovacic and Marco Asensio. The performances of these two players show that Real Madrid fans have one giant reason for optimism: Real Madrid’s young players will continue to shine for years to come.
Marco Asensio’s game was basically the opposite of Karim Benzema’s from a statistical perspective. Looking again at the same chart from above:
If Benzema made a whole lot of nothing out of some great chances, Marco Asensio made some great goals out of a whole lot of nothing. His ability to look up, see the shot that needs to be taken, and place it in the corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy is just out of this world.
Oftentimes you’ll see keepers just standing and staring at Asensio’s goals as they go into the back of the net, because they simply don’t expect him to be able to score from where he does. His ability to convert two goals from a measly .3 xG is testament to that skill.
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Also, it’s great to know we’ve got another player who can line up to take free kicks on the right-hand side of the box. Ronaldo’s prime territory is on the left. Bale tends to take FK’s when they are on the right, especially when they are far enough out from the box for him to blast from distance. But in terms of the spot that Asensio scored from, that was usually James Rodriguez territory. It’s good to know we’ve got another option to take FK’s from that area.
Another standout performance from a Real Madrid youngster came from Mateo Kovacic. Subbed on at half-time for Isco, who was experiencing some illness issues, Kovacic’s inclusion dramatically changed the second half for Madrid. Playing as a holding midfielder in front of Madrid’s beleaguered makeshift center-back pairing, Kovacic was immense in disrupting play and carrying the ball forward.
While Isco was great, he does not provide the same cover for the back line that Casemiro usually does, requiring Kroos and Modric to do more defensive work in the middle of the park. While that’s generally OK, because those players are fully capable of putting in a defensive shift, it ultimately limits what you can get out of them. One of the reasons Real Madrid were able to unleash the barrage of chances against Valencia late into the second half is that Kovacic freed up room for Modric and Kroos to do their magic further up the pitch.
Even though it was a disappointing draw, the performances of Kovacic and Asensio give me lots of reasons to be hopeful for the future.
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