Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after awesome win over Huesca

What happened to Eder Militao?

Real Madrid center back Eder Militao looked like a revelation at times in 2019-2020. Sure, he had some poor performances, such as against PSG, but he was also excellent in more games than he wasn’t. Take a look at his crucial interventions against Athletic Bilbao this summer.

Militao has some decent performances in 2020-2021 as well, but he’s honestly been inconsistent. He struggled mightily against Shakhtar Donetsk next to Raphael Varane, and he wasn’t good against Huesca, especially early in the match, playing alongside Sergio Ramos.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Militao has the tools to be a future star for Real Madrid at the center back position, but he needs to show that he can put it all together this season. He must convince Zinedine Zidane and the club’s decision-makers. Because Real are already eyeing the likes of Dayot Upamecano and Jules Kounde at center back, who are both more accomplished players than Militao. He must make his future spot safe by playing better.

Can Fede Valverde become Real Madrid’s top midfield scoring threat?

Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are both capable of scoring incredible goals from midfield. Kroos had a couple of sensational strikes last season, including this effort against Eibar, and Modric did as well. Already this season, Modric has a couple of great goals under his belt, including a moment of magic from long range against Shakhtar Donetsk.

But if you look at Real Madrid’s leaderboard for goals in La Liga, you will see that Karim Benzema is tied with Fede Valverde in first with three goals.

Valverde is coming off goals in back-to-back La Liga games. He scored with a great finish against Barcelona, and then he had an even better finish on the half-volley with a swerving effort against Huesca on Saturday.

We talk a lot about Valverde’s running, defensive contributions, and speed on the ball in transitions, but Valverde is also a technically prolific midfielder. The 22-year-old scored a couple of nice goals from outside the box last year, and it seems like his finishing is getting even better in the 2020-2021 season.