Real Madrid have a vital matchup coming up in the Champions League, as the Royal Whites must face a dominant Bayern Munich, the best team in the world right now, and overturn a 2-1 deficit at the Allianz Arena in order to prove that they are once again the king's of European football.
Los Blancos are coming off a drubbing of their other big Champions League rivals Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals, but they ran into a stone wall in the form of Manuel Neuer in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Although they were decisive off the bench once again, neither Eder Militao nor Jude Bellingham could save the tie in totality for Real Madrid. But after returning from injuries, both men should be back for full starts by the time Real face Bayern Munich again on Wednesday night in Germany.
Eder Militao might be the best in the world
Everyone knows the impact and star power of Bellingham, but a lot of people, especially outisde the Madrid bubble, fail to recognize just how vital Militao is. He is not only by far the best defender on Real Madrid, but he is also arguably the best center back on the planet - a sentiment Alvaro Arbeloa is now echoing that Militao's countryman Vinicius Junior had already expressed.
Arbeloa had effusive praise for Eder Militao in the pre game press conference ahead of the La Liga encounter with Mallorca, “When he is fine, Éder Militão is surely the best in the world. Physically he is a dominant player, in the one-to-one, he defends a lot of open space, he has a very powerful aerial game. A great ball exit, mentality, the character, the commanding voice”.
Behind every Arbeloa statement of high praise is a message, and the message to Militao here is simple and beautful. You are a lion. Go out there and dominate. Everyone will be talking about the goal Harry Kane scored in the first leg, all the goals he has scored this season, his dominance, his finishing, and his candidacy as the Ballon d'Or favorite.
This game is Militao's chance to show that he is a superstar, too, even though he gets little attention as a Real Madrid center back - even Antonio Rudiger gets talked about more. But Militao is way, way better, and only injuries are blighting him. Real Madrid NEED Militao at his best to win this game, and Arbeloa is gassing him up so he can be motivated to be at his best when Real need him most this second leg vs. Bayern.