Real Madrid beat Villarreal 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last night and managed to stay in the Liga title race. Karim Benzema opened the scoring as he headed in a deflection from the goalkeeper off Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot.
Lucas Vasquez doubled the lead with a brilliant near-post finish and it was followed by a volley from Luka Modric from a pin-point Danilo cross which sealed the match for the Los Blancos.
Trending
With this win, Real stay a point behind the league leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with 4 matches to go. Let us take a look at how the players performed in the match.
Real Madrid:
Keylor Navas- 7.5
Unlike most of the games this season, the Costa Rican international was rarely tested. He came up with a brilliant save to deny Denis Suarez getting on to the scoresheet right after Benzema scored his goal.
Danilo- 7
Danilo has been facing criticisms from the fans on all cylinders, but that doesn’t stop him assist Luka Modric to net the third goal. His work-rate was good, but he was found losing away the possession few times.
Sergio Ramos - 8
Just like his goalkeeper, the skipper was also not tested too often by the Villarreal players, but he made sure that he denied any counter-attack with good interventions. Ramos also helped the team in attacks but setting a solid base with his daft runs from deep.
Raphael Varane - 7
The French youngster could have got his name on the scoresheet, but headed the ball over the cross-bar. He was very good in the air and initiated few attacks from the back.
Marcelo - 7
The Brazilian left-back once again showed his class by linking up with both Ronaldo and Benzema without any difficulties. His work-rate was good as he posed a threat to the Villarreal defence on occasions.
Casemiro - 8
Once again Casemiro proved why he is the most important player in the midfield for Real Madrid. He made sure that there was balance in both attack and defence. He was also fortunate to escape from getting a yellow card as the referee waved it to Danilo instead of the midfielder. However, Casemiro was shown a yellow card for a foul in the dying moments of the game.
Luka Modric - 9
The Croatian international was by far Real Madrid’s best player on the pitch. He backed up his good performance by netting Danilo’s cross to the bottom-left corner.
Toni Kroos - 7.5
Initially, Toni Kroos was not supposed to be a part of the starting XI. But was drafted into the XI and had a good match for his team. He made sure that the Villarreal defence was tested quite often.
Lucas Vasquez - 8.5
The Spanish international offered a lot for Real Madrid as he positioned himself very well and got his well-deserved goal before being taken off by Zinedine Zidane. He also contributed to the team in defence.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 7.5
Cristiano didn’t have a great day by his standards as he failed to get his name on the scoresheet. He had a lot of chances to score but didn’t have the luck to convert them. His shot was deflected by Asenjo and that helped Benzema to take the lead.
Karim Benzema - 8.5
It was a rare game for the Frenchman as he played the full 90 minutes without getting substituted. He did his part by scoring the first goal and looked threatening throughout the game.
Substitutes:
Isco - 6
The Spanish youngster came on for Toni Kroos and looked dangerous as he supplied in few balls that deserved to be converted by the men forward.
James Rodriguez - N/A
James was introduced for the final 10 minutes as a replacement for Luka Modric. He had nothing to do and had a little impact.
Jese - N/A
Jese Rodriguez was introduced in the last few minutes and didn’t have much to do for the team.
Villarreal:
Sergio Asenjo - 5
The goalkeeper had an average game as he can be found at fault for the first two goals. Real Madrid failed to have a field day as the goalie was rarely tested on other occasions.
Eric Bertrand - 7
He was one of the very few players who played well for Villarreal as he made sure that he kept Benzema and Ronaldo at bay on most occasions.
Antonio Rukavina – 6
The Serbian international had a mixed day on the field as he managed to fend off some dangerous chances but failed to hold on to the possession while the visitors were attacking.
Danielle Bonera - 7
Bonera was solid in defence when he blocked Cristiano Ronaldo from getting into the scoresheet. He was also very good in the air.
Mario Gasper - 5.5
The Spaniard had a decent outing as he kept the Cristiano-Marcelo pair at bay, a thing only few full-backs can do. However, he did not contribute much in the attack for his team.
Jonathan Dos Santos - 5
Dos Santos didn’t offer much for the team in attack, but he made sure that he tracked back and didn’t allow the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to call the shots.
Manu Trigueros - 4
Trigueros was one player who did nothing on the pitch. He got a yellow card in the early stages of the game and since then, he just allowed the Real Madrid attack to go past him with ease.
Denis Suarez - 6.5
He was the only Villarreal player who tested Real Madrid’s defence as he looked menacing in the left flanks. He was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet as he was saved by Navas on two occasions.
Bruno Soriano - 5.5
Bruno kept his head calm as he was holding possession with ease. Apart from that, he had an off-day for Villarreal as he failed to test Real Madrid’s defence.
Adrian Lopez - 3.5
Adrian Lopez had nothing to offer for Villarreal as he was invisible on most occasions. He worked hard to track back and press but failed to contribute anything in attack.
Cedric Bakumbu - 4.5
A lot was expected from Bakumbu after his heroics when these sides met at the Madrigal earlier this season. But the striker failed to live up to his expectations as he found it difficult to go past Sergio Ramos.
Substitutes:
Samu – 4.5
He was introduced on the right flanks but had nothing to contribute to the team. He was found unable to cope up with Marcelo.
Rodri Hernandez - 4.5
He was sent in to bolster the attack but he didn’t create much of an impact in the time he played as he failed to breach Madrid’s defence.
Leo Baptistao - 4.5
Baptistao worked hard both defensively and offensively in the limited time he was on the pitch, but that didn’t help him in savis his team from defeat.
