Real Madrid: The 5 best players from the first quarter of the 2020-21 season

Who have been Real Madrid’s best players through the first eight matches of the league season and the first half of the Champions League group stage?

As Real Madrid prepare for their big match against Villarreal after the November international break, it’s time to take stock of the team. There are some huge fixtures coming up for Los Blancos as the year closes, including El Derbi and some must-win Champions League matches.

But before the games return, let’s take a look at the five players who have impressed the most for Real Madrid after eight La Liga matches and three Champions League fixtures.

CM Fede Valverde

It’s awful that Fede Valverde will miss a significant period of time with a fractured tibia. You hate to see any player miss time with a serious injury, and it especially hurts to see a talented young player miss time.

For Real Madrid, Valverde’s injury is a huge loss. He could miss important matches against Borussia Monchengladbach, Sevilla, and Atletico Madrid, in addition to the upcoming matches against Inter Milan and Villarreal.

Valverde has been one of Real’s best players this season, just as he was in his breakout 2019-2020 campaign.

Only the team’s No. 9, Karim Benzema, has more goals than Valverde’s three. And Valverde has also completed 89.7 percent of his passes with 1.3 dribbles completed, per WhoScored.com.

Valverde has rightfully earned a reputation for being one of the world’s most impressive young box-to-box midfielders, with his defending and work rate highlighted more than anything else. But it’s also important to recognize his sharpness as a passer and his emerging finishing skills. He’s becoming even better than Leon Gortezka in the attack as a box-to-box midfielder.

The 22-year-old will be missed greatly in the coming weeks. He has truly become a vital starter to Zinedine Zidane in 2020.