Elche 0-3 Real Madrid: 5 Hits and Flops as Los Blancos ramp up easy three points | La Liga 2022-23

Real Madrid thrashed Elche 3-0 at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero on Wednesday, October 19.

Federico Valverde opened the scoring for the visitors in the 11th minute of the game as he smashed one from outside of his boot to beat Edgar Badia. Los Blancos tried to kill the game in the first half itself, but some tough luck and resilience from the hosts saw them keep the score at 1-0 at the half-time break.

Karim Benzema made it two in the 75th minute of the game following some intelligent work by Rodrygo in the box to set up the Frenchman. Marco Asensio put the game to bed in the 89th minute following some good work down the left by Aurelien Tchouamani and Rodrygo.

The score-line, however, did not justify the dominance Real Madrid showed as they had three goals ruled out throughout the course of the game.

With this victory, Real Madrid strengthened their grip at the top of the table as they lead Barcelona by six points who still have a game in hand.

On that note, here's a look at the five hits and flops from the game:

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#5 Hit: Fede Valverde (Real Madrid)

Fede Valverde celebrates after scoring a goal.

Valverde is in red-hot form this season. The Uruguayan international, following his outstanding performance against Barcelona, stood out once again, this time against Elche. The 24-year-old scored an outrageous goal from outside the box with the outside of his boot.

Valverde won two duels, made six recoveries, completed one dribble and made one clearance throughout the game. His influence is getting stronger and stronger with each passing game.

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#4 Flop: Lucas Boye (Elche)

Lucas Boye was nowhere to be seen against Real Madrid. The Argentine found it difficult to break through the duo of Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao. Moreover, he found no support higher up as he was rather isolated upfront.

The 26-year-old lost 11 duels, committed three fouls and was dispossessed four times throughout his stay on the pitch. Boye was taken off in the 79th minute of the game in favor of Ezequiel Ponce by Jorge Almiron.

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#3 Hit: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Karim Benzema rejoices after scoring.

Karim Benzema looked in fine touch against Elche following his Ballon d'Or win earlier this week. The Frenchman was heavily involved in the build-up as he kept falling back to help create.

He scored a clinical goal in the 75th minute of the game to put the tie to rest. Benzema scored in the opening minutes of the game as well following some tidy work in the box by Vinicius, but was ruled out for offside.

Benzema won five duels, completed two dribbles, created one chance and made one recovery throughout the game. His link-up play with Vinicius and Rodrygo upfront was a treat to watch.

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#2 Flop: Gonzalo Verdu (Elche)

Elche captain Gonzalo Elche endured a torrid game against the defending champions as his side were bullied for the majority of the game. The 33-year-old was clueless as to how to deal with the pace of the visitors and how to regroup as Real Madrid had Elche scrambling on every counter.

Verdu suffered against the pace of Vinicius and frequent off-the-ball movements by Benzema caused additional trouble for him. All in all, a game to forget for the skipper as his side continue to pursue their first win of the season.

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#1 Hit: Rodrygo (Real Madrid)

Rodrygo was exceptional against Elche.

Rodrygo is getting better with each passing game. The Brazilian has all but cemented his place in the starting line-up. He assisted both the goals in the second half scored by Benzema and Asensio, respectively.

Rodrygo won six duels, made two recoveries, completed three dribbles, made one clearance and created two chances throughout the game. His neat ball control and ability to find his teammates in tight spaces were beautiful to see.