Real Madrid: 3 reasons why Eder Militao has become the latest ‘untouchable’

He is no slouch on the ball himself

David Alaba has years of elite-level experience at multiple positions. Since he was a world-class left back for damn near a decade and has shown sublime quality in midfield at times, it is a luxury to have him at center back where he can charge forward or spray exquisite, threatening passes.

Next to him, Eder Militao has not looked out of place, though. Yes, Alaba is clearly the more inventive of the two, but Militao’s own numbers are pretty impressive for a center back. According to WhoScored.com, the 23-year-old is completing 90.8 percent of his passes in LaLiga, ranking him among the best in Spanish football. He also completed 86 percent of his passes in the Champions League win over Inter Milan.

Militao is averaging nearly 60 passes per game this season, too, meaning he is touching the ball frequently and yet rarely making mistakes. Outside of one poor backpass on Matchday 1 against Deportivo Alaves, which was an easy 4-1 win for Real Madrid anyway, I have not counted a significant error from the former FC Porto man.

In addition, Militao is averaging more than a foul drawn per game and has come close to scoring great goals on a few occasions. Militao is a real threat from set pieces, as we saw last season, too. He brings a quality skill-set on the ball and is not uncomfortable with progressing the play forward. If we were to compare him to Varane on that right-hand side, for example, Militao has been more assured in possession than the legendary French center back. So that is very much a feather in Militao’s cap.