3 Reasons Why Real Madrid swept aside Espanyol

Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid seem to be regaining some sort of consistency, and even though they were always expected to beat Espanyol, the comfort of a 2-0 victory may have been a luxury even a few months ago. They finished the game with 10-men as Ferland Mendy was sent off only minutes after the second goal.

The home side began well, creating chances early on but Espanyol held firm for most of the first half. Vinicius Jr and Benzema would both go close before an unexpected scorer in Raphael Varane opened the scoring in the 37th minute for Los Blancos.

The visitors could muster few chances against their opposition but perhaps their best chance fell to Esteban Granero who couldn't capitalise. At the other end, though, Espanyol were holding firm with former Madridista Diego Lopez making save after save.

Late on, Real Madrid were able to finally break the barrier to notch their second goal and put the tie largely beyond doubt as Karim Benzema's goal arrived a little more than 10 minutes from full time.

Real Madrid's Wings

Vinicius Jr was blazing against Espanyol

A massive chunk of Real Madrid's threat came down the wings. The Brazilian Vinicius Jr exposed defenders repeatedly as he created plenty of chances for his team. Although, he did have a few chances to score and if he improves on his finishing, Real Madrid have quite a talent on their hands. While he proved a terror on the left flank, Dani Carvajal was running riot down the other side.

As Rodrygo tucked inside, Carvajal repeatedly made runs down the outside pegging Espanyol back and allowing Real Madrid to repeatedly step up and target Espanyol's backline.

Ferland Mendy provided good support on the left flank as well till he got sent off late on leaving Real Madrid with a problem at left-back for their next game.

The steel in this team

Casemiro was sublime in midfield once again

Perhaps Espanyol aren't the best gauge of a team's defensive ability, but Real Madrid ran a tight shift at the back. It has become an increasingly rare sight but Zidane's side have managed to find a system that works defensively for them.

The addition of Mendy and Varane's return to form has played a big role in this side's defensive fortunes. The real heroes though have been the midfield trio of Casemiro, Federico Valverde, and Toni Kroos. Of course, there has been rotation in this midfield in recent weeks but this trio dominated the pitch on the day.

The backline and Thibaut Courtois were called into action on only a few occasions as Real Madrid's midfield controlled the game to a large extent. It was only in short bursts that Espanyol actually provided some threat, but Real were able to deal with it.

Fede Valverde's brilliant form

Valverde is in top form for Real Madrid

One of the highlights of recent weeks has been the rise of Federico Valverde within Real Madrid's ranks. He continued his stellar form against Espanyol playing in a midfield three. We already spoke about his contribution to the defensive side of the game but he also ran parts of the game going forward.

He played a role in the first goal as it was his shot that was parried away to win the corner from which Real opened the scoring. Following that he actually recorded an assist as his turn and low cross found Karim Benzema in the box and the Frenchman didn't miss from close range.

Apart from creating chances, he also followed up in midfield, often arriving late to take shots and provide a goal threat from midfield. His work-rate also compensated for others being out of position and he played a big role in Real's goals as well as a clean sheet.