3 Real Madrid players who must shine if David Alaba, Dani Carvajal miss Supercopa final

Eder Militao (CB)

Last week in the league game against Valencia, we saw Alaba pulling back Militao by holding the collar of this shirt, asking him to quickly recover back for a possible counter. It is not a huge point to note, but it just indicates how well both of them have formed a partnership, with the experienced Alaba guiding the Brazilian centre-back.

The 23-year-old has been one of Real Madrid’s best players this season, and he can be called Real Madrid’s best defender of 2021. But he has started 2022 on an erratic note, with two nightmarish performances vs Getafe and Barcelona. His mistakes directly lead to the goal, and he would definitely want to put those games behind them. In the Getafe game, he had a fine game apart from the mistake, but against Barcelona, without Alaba on his side, he looked lost in a lot of moments and was responsible for both the goals scored by the Blaugrana.

There is a need for him to step up tomorrow and regain his rhythm. The recent performances shouldn’t be affecting him mentally and hopefully, he can be the same destroyer to whom we are used.

He was immense in the two league fixtures played against Bilbao this season, and I wish to see him be the same tomorrow. I actually remember his performance against Athletic Bilbao in July 2020, when he had to cover for Varane and put in a sensational performance. He completely silenced the pacy and tricky Inaki Williams and helped Courtois maintain a clean sheet, along with Sergio Ramos, who scored the winner of the game at San Mames. He completely bullied Inaki in two 1v1 duels and won the footrace with the Spaniard.

Expecting to see a similar performance from Militao tomorrow, and it will definitely help him prove a point to the whole of Europe that he can be a defender who can be relied upon, on the big nights.