Juanmi has multiplied challenges in Germany. The striker is part of the green and white expedition to face Eintracht in Frankfurt and arrives with several challenges on the table. The biggest of them is to recover the punch that seems to have disappeared in recent weeks. He has nine games without scoring. Not even the breaks in Pellegrini’s rotations worked to recover his best version. Against Athletic, in the League, he had a clear opportunity that he did not take advantage of and in Heliópolis they cross their fingers so that the long-awaited strike from him returns in time.
Pellegrini has no doubts about what Juanmi brings him on the grass. His trump card is decisive in his scheme and he is aware of the importance he has in terms of pressure and construction from that left wing. His biggest competition, Tello, is also far from convincing the coach. Juanmi’s last goal dates back to February 3, when he scored a brace against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. In the league, he hasn’t scored since he did it against Alavés in January. Despite all this, there is a reality on the table: he is still the Spanish footballer who has scored the most goals this season with 16.
LaLiga Santander
*Data updated as of March 15, 2022
There is also a look into the past in this trip to Germany. Juanmi always remembers with nostalgia that 2012-2013 campaign with Malagawhen he was part of that Manuel Pellegrini squad until the middle of the campaign, when he left for Racing de Santander to find minutes. In that course he debuted in the Champions League against Zenit, but was left without the possibility of being present in that historic clash of the Costa del Sol team against Borussia Dortmund. He settled in Malaga the following year, but the team’s European expectations were no longer the same. Now, with Frankfurt on the horizon, he wants that special rematch on German soil.