During a match controlled from start to finish by Real Madrid against Leganés (3-0 victory), the one-night captain shone again.
Fede Valverde is the real Swiss army knife of Real Madrid. In the absence of Lucas Vazquez, “El Halcon” moved into the right-back role wonderfully, perhaps even to the point of giving Carlo Ancelotti ideas for the future with the return of Lucas. The Uruguayan international scored his fourth goal of the season after a great combination from a free kick with a precision low shot. Furthermore, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé also scored their second and ninth goals of the season respectively.
Fede Valverde was very happy after his big debut as Real Madrid captain: “Very happy to realize another dream at this club. My wife was here today. I wish there were my children and my parents who have always followed me during my career. They couldn’t be there because they are in Uruguay, far from me. But I think it’s a dream that we all realized together. with family Just words of thanks to them. regard”.
Regarding his game at right-back, Valverde prepared for this new role: “I really enjoyed playing in this position today. I am at the coach’s disposal, for everything he needs. The team needs. I tried to watch a lot of videos, a lot of matches of the other teammates, of Lucas, of Carvajal Obviously, I can’t even match them but I try to give the best of me-. even in this position and I try to help the team.
He also recalled that he had already played in this position against Liverpool in 2021 in a goalless draw 0-0 at Anfield in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League: “It was my first time at this position against a very difficult opponent, Mané I defended well, but it was obviously easier, without the supporters in the stadium. I think this time, it will be harder. the public but we are ready to do it face,” he added about the upcoming match against Liverpool on Wednesday at Anfield.
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“We knew it was important today to win, especially after Barcelona’s draw. We know they are a team in good form and we need to get as close as possible. It was also very important to win, especially before the match at Anfield against Liverpool which is very complicated. It’s a great joy, especially for the colleagues who made a huge effort,” he said. “The important thing was to win today to bring confidence before a very difficult match. Obviously we already had complicated matches against them, where we started to lose at the start of the match. We ended up win and that’s the most important thing, we have to repeat this in the same way,” he insisted.
He also analyzed his goal: “Once again, all the credit goes to the coach for this goal. Words of thanks to Carlo Ancelotti who puts his trust in me for the set pieces.. Just words of thanks. Happy with the effort of the whole team and proud of the result.”
Ceballos’ statements
For his part, Dani Ceballos, a surprise player in Madrid’s starting XI, had a clean and flawless match and declared that Fede Valverde was “an inspiration for all Real Madrid players”. “Congratulate him on his first match as captain of this club. It won’t be the last. He is a player who has come a long way and who has worked silently for many years. No matter where he plays, he is always good. It’s a source of inspiration for all of us,” he added.
Ceballos underlined that Real Madrid played “a very complete game” in the victory against Leganés and explained the improvement of his team after a start to the season full of doubts: “We lacked a little time to get to know each other “It was a complicated match because we had little training together after the break. The team is more and more solid, working better defensively in particular and we can see it in the results.
Finally, he explained how he felt after starting again for the first time since September 1: “I have been working for a long time after the injury on the 4th day. I feel very good and I am enjoying the minutes that I have. they give me,” he assured.
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