Real Madrid: Five Takeaways From The Season So Far

Two consistently performing midfielders

One positive that I can say for sure is that some of the team’s midfielders have been playing the way they should play, only better. Some names: Fede Valverde, Luka Modric. They have been among the team’s top three or four performers till now, and neither of them are in their peak. Fede Valverde, age 23, hasn’t entered it, and Luka Modric, age 35, is past it. But their levels of performance and energy are noteworthy. Luka Modric put the team on his back and carried it against a couple of teams this season. Fellow contributor Prashva points this out and so much more in his recent piece.

Let me tell you one thing: the things that Luka has been doing ever since the lockdown was uplifted are NOT normal for a 34/35-year-old. From then till now, in most games, he has been among the most hardworking players in the squad.

With Luka, Zinedine Zidane knows that he has a lot of tactical versatility with, He can conjure him to do the role of a deep-lying playmaker, a presser and elite defending midfielder, an integral piece of a double pivot, a creator in front of the other midfielders. He can juggle many roles and some of them at once, which isn’t something many players provide at all, let alone at the age where footballers show a less impressive version of themselves.

Now, he has had bad games, don’t get me wrong, but Zidane (usually) uses him in such a way that his presence is felt. He features in a lot of games due to injuries, and he has been aging like fine wine. We all love Luka.

The other person I wanted to mention is Fede Valverde. I’m working on an article talking about him, so I won’t go too much into it. But he has been the team’s best player so far. His energy is felt in every game. He provides a lot in both defense and offense. Somehow, he’s improved in every single aspect from last season and is looking to add a few more tricks into his bag now.

For example, he is taking way better shots than he did last season, and more of them, as well. He has already taken over his goal tally from last season (2), scoring three goals in around 2500 fewer minutes played. I hope he builds on this, because if he does, there’s no one in the world that would be able to predict his upside. More on this soon.