Real Madrid center back Éder Militao steps up at the right time
Éder Militao, Real Madrid’s reported €50 million signing, made a massive statement through his performance vs. Liverpool. The Brazilian defender hasn’t had many opportunities at Real Madrid to show the ability he showed at Porto, and when he did get chances, he put in mixed performances.
But with Raphaël Varane first rested vs. Eibar and then testing positive for COVID-19 just hours before the game vs. Liverpool, Militao was thrust into the starting center-back position. Militao though rose to the occasion and put in perhaps his best performance in the famous white of Real Madrid vs. Liverpool.
Against Liverpool, Militao had a 100% tackle success rate, won four aerial duels, and completed 80% of his passes, according to whoscored.com. Anyone who watched the game could tell that the Brazilian played a great game without even looking at statistics. Militao seemed very confident and stepped up to make crucial interceptions, as evidenced by his team-high three interceptions.
His ability on the ball kept improving throughout the 180 minutes he played against Eibar and Liverpool. In the game vs. Eibar, he defended pretty well but looked nervous when pressured while the ball was in his possession. And while he did have a couple of nervy moments vs. Liverpool, he looked far more comfortable and even took on risks as the game wore on and completed a dribble out of tight space in the process.
Eder Militao’s performance will give him a key boost for Real Madrid vs. Barcelona and the second leg of the Champions League
The good performances from Éder Militao have certainly come at the right time for Los Blancos. Sergio Ramos and Varane are almost certainly out for the entirety of “hell week.” With Madrid’s starting center-back duo out of the game, it will be up to the substitute duo of Nacho and Militao to ensure that the team does not miss the two.
Nacho has already proven he’s more than capable of stepping in for the injured captain. Militao looked to have even lost his place in the team as the third center-back this season, owing both to Nacho’s good form and Militao’s weak showings this season. But the last two performances should give him a confidence boost and, that will be crucial as he faces off against Messi & co. and Salah & Mane in the return leg.
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If Militao can repeat his great performances against Barcelona and Liverpool in the 2nd leg, he has a chance to turn around his career at Real Madrid. While he hasn’t gotten enough opportunities to prove he is Real Madrid worthy so far, this will go a long way in proving he’s good enough for the Whites and put him back in Zinedine Zidane’s plan as the manager starts to trust his “B-team” again.