Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic shouldn’t face a weight of expectations.
Luka Jovic didn’t receive an ideal introduction to life at Real Madrid in 2019-2020 when looking at the chances he had to shine. The Serbian international appeared in 22 matches across La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, and the Spanish Supercup. But he only started in eight of those matches.
In total, Jovic earned 392 minutes in La Liga across 15 appearances for an average of 26 minutes per appearance. Basically, he had less than a half-hour to make something happen, and he was often thrown into matches in the final five minutes with no real chance of getting on the scoresheet.
Yet, Jovic did score. Granted, the 22-year-old only scored twice and both goals were in La Liga, but it’s worth noting that, per FBRef.com, only fellow striker Karim Benzema averaged more goals and assists per 90 minutes in La Liga than Jovic’s 0.68.
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That average of goal contributions per 90 may come as a surprise, but Jovic’s efficiency becomes even more impressive when realizing that he posted those numbers in fragmented playing time.
It’s awfully difficult to make an impact on the pitch when you only have 5-10 minutes to get into a game, but Jovic did his best.
The narrative around Jovic’s first season with Real Madrid is frustratingly negative. It’s disheartening to see such a talented young player receiving rampant criticism, especially when Jovic was always going to be eased into things.
Transitioning to the No. 9 position at the Santiago Bernabeu is difficult because of what’s expected from attacking players in Madrid.
Look no further than the pressure Karim Benzema is under even as a club legend, as he received plenty of criticism when his goals dried up in the second half of the year.
But before that, Jovic had no chance at unseating the long-time starter; Benzema was absolutely killing it in the first half of the season.
Jovic still needs time to adapt to the rigors of playing striker at Real Madrid and proving that he can be a better option for Real than Benzema – and not just in the long term. Real have eyes on Erling Haaland, but Jovic remains in the driver’s seat to prove he is Los Blancos’ striker of the future.
He’ll have to overcome a fractured foot in order to take his game to the next level when football returns, but Luka Jovic is a talent worth betting on. He scored 27 goals between the Bundesliga and Champions League in 2018-2019 for Eintracht Frankfurt with an additional six assists. Jovic has all the tools at the striker position to be a star for Real Madrid.