CB Eder Militao
I could easily use this space to highlight Sergio Ramos, but it’s a little too obvious to praise a man who just might be the second-best center back in the world behind Ballon d’Or candidate Virgil van Dijk.
Eder Militao had a rough outing against PSG last week, but he was a victim of circumstance if anything. And in all honesty, he was markedly better than Raphael Varane in that contest, which may have hinted at a possible rebound performance.
Exactly one week later, Militao had that rebound display. He was instrumental in Real Madrid keeping Alphonse Areola’s goal clean, and Osasuna opted to test him over Ramos. The result did not work in Osasuna’s favor, as the visiting forwards found it difficult to get by Militao.
The former FC Porto star consistently frustrated the attackers, showing savvy positioning to go with elite physical tools. Militao is difficult to beat one-on-one because of his strength and tenacity. He had no trouble dealing with Brandon Thomas’s impressive bag of tricks, nor did he have issues showing off his own tricks when playing it out of the back.
Militao is clearly the third-best center back on Real Madrid and could earn some minutes over Varane as the season continues – or minutes spelling Ramos. It’s too soon to tell what his role will be even two months from now, but this was a fantastic game from the Brazilian defender.