Valladolid held on, Madrid couldn’t find a way to hurt them, and the game was broken by a free kick from Fede Valverde that almost didn’t happen. “Ancelotti tells me many times to practice shooting, but that shyness of not wanting to grab the ball…”, the Uruguayan said afterwards. “With his help and with his drive… I have to thank him for that.” And he already started to do it on the field. After celebrating with the crowd, Valverde went to the bench to find his coach. “I told you, I told you,” the Italian repeated, determined since his arrival that the midfielder should free himself, put his shyness aside and dare to show everything he is capable of, starting with his powerful shot, which the coach has referred to on many occasions.
But against Valladolid he was also close to going into the shadows again. Rodrygo and Arda Güler immediately volunteered to take the shot. But Ancelotti wanted Valverde to try, and he sent the message to them from the touchline: “Goal is now strong.” The Turk and the Brazilian prepared the ball for him, Valverde smashed it and it ended up in the net after lightly touching Juric, one of the members of a barrier that dissolved prematurely, as Pezzolano, the Valladolid coach, lamented: “The impetus of a player wanting to go out… The barrier opens because he wants to do something… Sometimes the barrier has to stay still, closed. But it happened soon, and I hope it doesn’t happen to us again.”
Valverde was happy, but Ancelotti seemed more satisfied because he is managing to bring out a player that he considers fundamental: “Valverde continues to progress. Now he shows much more personality, more responsibility with the team,” he said. “For me it is not difficult to say that he is a player who cannot be replaced. He is irreplaceable. Because of his quality, his strength and his intelligence. It is a blessing to have him, and I think that Kroos, when he left the club, chose a perfect player because of his quality and his mentality to replace him.”
The heir to the German’s number 8, who opened the scoring in the first game of the season, the European Super Cup final against Atalanta, is happy with his scoring facet, but after beating Valladolid he wanted to focus on another aspect: “I’m very happy to help the team with goals, but the important thing is the defensive work, which I’m very proud of, and today I have to use it a lot.” At the Bernabéu he won three tackles, the most of the match, with Lucas Rosa, Fran García and Carvajal.
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