Real Madrid: The flashes of brilliance from Luka Jovic are clear

Much of the mainstream dialogue around Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic have been overly negative, but rational observers understand that the young striker is in a good spot.

Last season, Luka Jovic broke out for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring 27 goals in all competitions, including one memorable five-goal match in the Bundesliga. His performances earned him a big-money move to Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane saw Jovic as an important piece of the puzzle as a young backup to Karim Benzema.

It isn’t easy for a player to see the pitch when playing behind Benzema. The former Lyon man is one of the best strikers in the world. He’s well-rounded, hard-working, creative, and capable of being the league’s top scorer. And most of all, he’s been at an elite level for years.

Therefore, Jovic has played fewer than 400 minutes in La Liga this season, making nearly three times as many appearances off the bench than as a starter. And like Sunday’s game against Osasuna, many of Jovic’s substitute appearances are brief, five-to-ten minute cameos in which it is difficult for him to make his mark.

However, this Sunday, Jovic needed only a few minutes to make an impact. The Serbia international found the back of the net on the counterattack, emphatically pouncing on a chance created by Luka Modric and Fede Valverde to put the game away at 4-1 in Real Madrid’s favor.

Jovic’s chance was on a platter, but the way he cooly took the chance was impressive. He showed off his technical qualities and ability to finish off chances with a cool, killer instinct rivaling that of former teammate Sebastien Haller. You wouldn’t have thought he was a young player scoring his second goal of the season for Real Madrid at El Sadar; he looked like a top, veteran striker.

There have been other brilliant moments from Jovic this season. His assist was a jaw-dropping backheel assist for Casemiro in a tough 2-1 win over Sevilla, who look like a potential Champions League team next season.

Real Madrid purchased Jovic to score goals, just as he did at Frankfurt, but he’s shown that he brings more than goals to the table. Jovic’s link-up play has been excellent, as exemplified by his backheel assist against Sevilla and his backheel in the build to one of Gareth Bale‘s goals early in the season against Villarreal.

Jovic’s strength, work rate, pressing, and ability to take up dangerous positions have all been worthy of praise. He barely plays and most mainstream observers focus on the goals, so these traits often get lost. But these traits are most important and will serve Jovic well in the future. Because, yes, he is expected to be Real’s future No. 9 whenever Benzema is finished, as far off in the future as that may seem to be.

There’s clearly a lot to be excited about with Jovic, and it’s why Madridistas are firmly in his corner. They celebrated his goal like crazy against Osasuna even though the game was already in the bag. Everyone wants Jovic to succeed, and the actual skill-set he shows on the pitch is tantalizing. There’s every reason for optimism with Jovic, no matter what the critics have written about the young, growing striker.