#1 Individual brilliance
In the end, it was a day of individual brilliance on the field. Vinicius Jr. was impressive with his quick feet and gave Levante a lot of trouble with his direct runs. He also switched flanks successfully and on one such occasion, it was his perfectly measured square back across goal that was turned in by Casemiro. The Brazilian himself was a dominating figure on the pitch, spraying the ball well and winning tackles to keep possession.
James Rodriguez also impressed with his late runs and his eye for a pass. He beautifully set up Karim Benzema to score Real’s second of the night. However, it was the Frenchman who was the most impressive player on the pitch.
Benzema opened the scoring with a perfectly measured header. It was a goal that gave Real the confidence and positivity they desperately needed on the pitch. The Frenchman then doubled the lead with another well-taken finish.