Javi grace has not repeated alignment in the nine days disputed in LaLiga and yet there is a position that is more than clear: front. The Navarrese has given gallons to Maxi Gomez, who has played from the start in the eight games that he has been available and has only been changed once (and in 87). The charrúa is the clear reference up front both in attack and to get the ball long -In the last game Jaume played both with him and in short with Gayà-, and his three goals plus the two penalties he has forced They add to their statistics an earned title based on the game they play.
But Maxi is not iron and he is still limping from his knee discomfort that deprived him of traveling with Uruguay and, incidentally, of avoiding Covid-19. The pain persists to the point that keep working on the sidelines on the green of Paterna and although he wants to arrive at the appointment against Alavés next Sunday, his presence is still not clear. Arrive or not, with your figure between cottons the other forwards are forced to step forward, Maxi just can't and the goal that needs escorts.
Because as much as the big bet in the attack point is the Uruguayan, Gracia has given some continuity to both Kevin Gameiro and Manu Vallejo, the other '9' of the team. The French has had minutes in six of the seven encounters in which it has been available and in two of them it has started from eleven, the role that Grace has given him corresponds to what he promised in summer, when he told him that he wanted to have him and that he would give him continuity as an alternative to Maxi, which he never found with Celades.
But nevertheless, Kevin has not yet responded. It is true that he suffered an injury at the beginning of the campaign that deprived him of having preseason and playing the first duels, but on the other hand, zero goals, zero assists and zero shots between the three suits in 232 minutes spread over six games is a very poor balance for a footballer who convinced Gracia from day one and who with a footballer like Kang-in or Guedes behind him can benefit.
Vallejo's role is also quite defined, since his work of Revulsive and the aptly named 'Vallejo effect' He was already noted on the first day when he scored two goals, the same as in the entire previous season. The Cadiz has run out of the last two dates, something quite consistent with his role, since Valencia was ahead against Getafe and Real Madrid at the time of the changes and Gracia opted for players with greater defensive work.
SOCCER 20/21 Vallejo scored the same two goals as last season in 20 minutes of the first match.
ALBERTO IRANZO (DIARIO AS)
Manu's great challenge is achieve a round performance starting from eleven. Gracia gave him the option on the third matchday at Mestalla against Huesca, but he was substituted at game time and hardly generated danger, after that appointment he only added twelve minutes in the three subsequent games, but again at Martínez Valero, his entry to the field was a breath of fresh air (insufficient), and indeed only Verdú deprived him of the goal clearing the ball on the same line when he had already beaten Edgar Badía.
The goal that needs more names and with Maxi entre algodones there are two candidates who are opposed to seducing him. A Gameiro that today is the logical replacement to the charrúa or a Vallejo that always contributes as a revulsive, but that yearns for a new opportunity from the eleven.