Getafe 0-3 Real Madrid: 3 players who impressed for Los Blancos | La Liga 2019-20

Having ended 2019 with a disappointing run of three consecutive draws in La Liga, Real Madrid kicked off the new decade with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Getafe at the Alfonso Coliseum Perez.

A first half own goal by David Soria set Los Blancos on their way and Raphael Varane made sure of the result in the 54th minute with a powerful header after consultations with VAR, while Luka Modric added gloss to the scoreline when he converted from close range after being teed up by Fede Valverde.

The victory saw Zinedine Zidane's men open a temporal two-point lead at the summit and they can now turn their attention to Saudi Arabia where they would take on Valencia in the revamped Spanish Super Cup in midweek.

A number of players played key roles in inspiring Real Madrid to victory and here, we shall be highlighting three players who were the most impressive for the capital club in their derby victory over their city rivals.

Honorable mentions: Luka Modric, Federico Valverde

---

#3 Thibaut Courtois

Courtois made some telling saves to keep Real Madrid in the game

Thibaut Courtois caused quite the storm in his quest to join Real Madrid from Chelsea, at one point even going on strike to facilitate the move.

However, it took him a very long time to settle down at the Bernabeu and over one year from his arrival, many were openly questioning the sensibility in the decision to sell Keylor Navas at his expense.

His talent has, nevertheless, been in doubt and after a slow start, things are starting to look brighter for Belgium international in recent weeks.

Having played a key role in Real Madrid's last-gasp equalizer against Valencia, Courtois followed that up with two consecutive clean sheets against Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao to wrap up the year.

The 27-year-old was handed his 16th start of the campaign against Getafe and he responded with one of his most commanding performances of his Bernabeu career.

A casual look at the scoreline would suggest that Real Madrid were comfortable for the entirety of the game but that was far from the case and the hosts were on top for large spells in the match.

They fashioned a total of four shots on target and Los Blancos needed their goalkeeper to keep them in the game.

He produced two splendid saves in quick succession to deny first Faycal Fajr and then Leandro Cabrera in the space of 160 seconds.

These saves proved to be defining, as just few moments later, the visitors went ahead and with his third consecutive clean sheet recorded on the bounce, Courtois is slowly but surely proving his value to the Real Madrid cause.

#2 Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos was his usual majestic self in midfield

While he might not get as much accolades as Casemiro or Luka Modric, a case can be made to consider Toni Kroos as the best midfielder in the world over the last seven years.

The German international is as calm on the ball as he is off it, while his pristine distribution and pin-point delivery played no small role in the recent successes enjoyed by Real Madrid.

Against Getafe, the 30-year-old was deployed in a midfield three alongside long-time partners Casemiro and Luka Modric and Kroos was at his majestic best, dictating the tempo of the game from the middle.

The former Bayern Munich man completed 86.7% of his passes, while he also supplied the telling cross for Raphael Varane to head Real Madrid 2-0 up.

He was substituted for Federico Valverde in the 70th minute after what was a commanding performance.

#1 Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane had a hand in two goals

In the absence of skipper Sergio Ramos through suspension, the onus of marshalling the defence fell upon the shoulders of Raphael Varane and this is a responsibility that he handled with aplomb.

Although there were periods when the Getafe frontline got in behind the Real Madrid defence, with Jaime Mata and Angel fashioning chances for their teammates, Varane largely kept his cool when it would have been easier to fall into disarray.

The French international played his part in securing the team's 10th La Liga clean sheet, with two interceptions and nine clearances but it was at the other end that he made his most telling contributions.

Sergio Ramos is universally acknowledged as one of the most attack-minded central defenders in the world but his defensive partner is no slouch in this department either and Varane showed the full range of his attacking prowess against Getafe.

He reacted quickest after David Soria had made a hash of an attempted catch from a Mendy cross in the 34th minute and nine minutes into the second half, he made it 2-0 with a another header from a Toni Kroos free kick.