Real Madrid midfielder Ernesto Valverde Ben has scored a significant reduction in the number of goals he has scored, and Real Madrid fans will surely miss his long-range shot.
Federico Valverde scored 12 goals last season but has scored just one so far this season. In terms of shots, the two seasons were almost the same, with 1.9 shots per game last season and a goal rate of 11 per cent, and this season it is 1.8 per game, but the shooting percentage has plummeted to 3 per cent.
When it comes to playing time, the 25-year-old Uruguay international scored every 366 minutes last season. Coming this season, it took him 2,415 minutes to find the back of the net, with only centre-back Antonio Rudiger having a worse stat at Real Madrid (2,459 minutes), but Rudiger has scored two goals and just played more.
The change stems from Real Madrid's switch from the 433 to the 4312 formation, with Valverde playing as a right midfielder or even a right wing-back from time to time last season, and now giving way to Bellingham in the number 10 position, which is far from the goal. Recently, Valverde has been injured by Tchouameni and Camavinga, and has played a defensive midfielder more in the back position.
'My favourite position is the defensive midfielder, where I've played for most of my career, and also in the Uruguayan national team. I wanted to score the same number of goals as last season, but I had to adjust and now I'm focused on contributing to the team as a team as a manager asks,' said Valverde.
With Zouamani and Camavinga returning from injury, manager Carlo Ancelotti has indicated that Valverde will leave his favourite defensive midfield position and return to a more attacking position, with Ancelotti stating that "playing in defensive midfield is only a short-term measure, we have to go back to being more solid, more focused and efficient in defence".
